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INTERSTATE  COMMERCE 


AND 


RAILWAY  TRAFFIC  COURSE 

Prepared  under  Editorial  Supervision  of 

Samuel  MacClintock,  Ph.  D. 


The  subjects  listed  below  constitute  the  basic  material 
of  a  course  in  Interstate  Commerce  and  Railway  Traffic. 
This  course  is  especially  designed  to  meet  the  constantly 
growing  demand  for  efficiently  trained  men  in  railroad  and 
industrial  traffic  work;  to  assist  students  to  pass  the  exam- 
inations for  government  service  under  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Commission;  and  to  meet  the  demand  for  men  com- 
petent to  direct  the  work  of  commercial  organizations  and 
traffic  bureaus.  With  the  exception  of  the  Atlas  of  Railway 
Traffic  Maps,  the  subjects  listed  below  are  covered  in  an 
average  of  approximately  200  pages  each. 

Atlas  of  Railway  Traffic  Maps 

Freight  Classification;  Some  Ways  of  Reducing  Freight 
Charges 

Freight  Rates:  Official  Classification  Territory  and 
Eastern  Canada;  Bases  for  Freight  Charges 

Freight  Rates:  Southern  Territory;  The  Industrial  Traf- 
fic Department 

Freight  Rates:  Western  Territory 

Publication  and  Filing  of  Tariffs 

The  Bill  of  Lading;  Routing  Freight  Shipments;  Freight 
Claims 

Railway  Organization;  Statistics  of  Freight  Traffic; 
Railway  Accounting 

Express  and  Parcel  Post 

Ocean  Traffic  and  Trade 

Government  Control  of  Common  Carriers 

Interpretation  of  the  Act  to  Regulate  Commerce 

Rulings  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  and 
Procedure  before  that  body 

Business  Law,  I 

Business  Law,  II 

The  Law  of  Carriers  of  Goods 

Practical  Traffic  Problems 

LASALLE  EXTENSION  UNIVERSITY 


THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 


AND 


SUPPLEMENTAL  ACTS 


HERBERT  C.  LUST 

Of  the  Chicago  Bar 
Co-Author,    "Digest    of    Decisions 
Under  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act" 


% 


Ia^aile  EkNSioN  University 

(Home  Study  Under  Expert  Guidance) 
CHICAGO 


Copyright,  1915 
LaSalle  Extension  University 


I 


»■  > 


«* 
i 


U^nko- 


CONTENTS 


m 


SECTION  1 


Scope  5 

Pipe  lines 7 

^                  Common  control,  management,  or  arrangement 9 

Adjacent  foreign  country 13 

Intrastate  commerce 13 

Definitions  14 

Charges    15 

Jurisdiction  of  Commission  over  classification 22 

Bills  of  lading > 25 

Same  subject:  Duty  of  carrier  to  issue 25 

Same  subject:  Construction  27 

Tickets  28 

Baggage    28 

Facilities   29 

Free  transportation 31 

Commodities  clause 32 

Switching  connections  33 

SECTION  2 

Crimes   37 

to 

SECTION  3 

1.     DISCRIMINATION 

In  general 39 

Control  and  regulation  of  discrimination 43 

Jurisdiction  of  Commission 43 

Determination  of  discrimination .44 

Justification  of  discrimination :  Carrier  as  shipper  or  consignee ...  48 

Same  subject:  Carrier  not  serving  prejudiced  point 48 

Same  subject:  Competition  in  general 49 

Same  subject:  Potential  competition  50 

Same  subject:  Railroad  competition  50 

Same  subject:  Water  competition  51 

Removal  of  discrimination 53 

2.    FACILITIES 

Interchange  of  facilities 54 

Terminal  facilities  55 

SECTION  4 
1.     LONG-AND-SHORT-HAUL  RULE 

In  general  56 

0*  Constitutionality  of  Section  4 69 

ill 


iv  CONTENTS 

Jurisdiction  of  Commission 60 

Exceptions 60 

Application  of  Section  4  to  rates 62 

Competition  as  justification 62 

SECTION  5 

Pooling  of  freight 65 

Panama  Canal  Act:    Water  carriers 65 

SECTION  6 

1.    TARIFFS 

Jurisdiction  of  Commission 68 

Publication:    Effect  69 

Adherence  to  published  rate 69 

Erroneous  quotation  by  carrier 70 

Necessity  of  publication 71 

Purpose  of  publication 71 

Posting    71 

Construction   72 

Through  shipments    73 

Special  contracts  75 

SECTION  7 

Continuous  carriage  79 

SECTION  8 

Attorney's  fees  80 

SECTION  9 

Actions  at  law 81 

Same  subject :    Witnesses 81 

SECTION  10 

Penalties    82 

SECTION  11 

The  Interstate  Commerce  Commission 85 

SECTION  12 

Powers  of  Commission 86 

SECTION  13 

Parties  to  complaints 87 


CONTENTS 


SECTION  14 
Reports  of  the  Commission 89 


SECTION  15 


Importance  of  Section  15. 


90 


1.     JURISDICTION  OF  COMMISSION 


In  general  92 

Primary  jurisdiction 92 

Finality  of  Commission's  findings 94 

Jurisdiction  over  procedure 96 

Jurisdiction  over  orders 96 

Jurisdiction  over  capitalization 96 

Jurisdiction  over  interstate  rates 97 

Jurisdiction  over  intrastate  rates 98 

Jurisdiction  over  suspension  of  rates 99 

Jurisdiction  over  unpublished  rates 100 

Jurisdiction  to  award  damages 100 

Jurisdiction  over  reasonable  rates 101 

Jurisdiction  over  divisions 102 

Jurisdiction  over  advanced  rates :    In  general 103 

Same  subject:  Justification  of  increase 105 

Same  subject:  Eight  to  advance  rates 106 

Same  subject :  Right  to  earn 107 

Same  subject:  Change  in  conditions 108 

Jurisdiction  over  through  routes  and  joint  rates 112 


Establishment  by  carrier 115 

Right  to  favor  own  line 116 

What  is  satisfactory  through  route 118 

Right  to  withdraw  through  routes 118 

Obligation  to  furnish  equipment 119 

Legal  rate 119 

Jurisdiction  over  routing  and  misrouting:   In  general 120 

Same  subject:  Carriers'  duty  to  transport 120 

Accustomed  or  natural  route 121 

Cheapest  available  route 121 

Conflict  in  billing  between  rate  and  route 121 

Shipper's  instructions 122 

Liability  for  misrouting 123 

Jurisdiction  over  electric  lines 124 

Jurisdiction  over  business  secrets 125 

Jurisdiction  over  water  carriers :   Discrimination  and  rebates 126 

Jurisdiction  over  allowances:   In  general 128 


Same  subject: 
Same  subject: 
Same  subject: 
Same  subject: 
Same  subject: 
Same  subject: 


Same  subject: 
Same  subject: 
Same  subject: 
Same  subject: 
Same  subject: 


Same  subject: 
Same  subject: 
Same  subject: 
Same  subject: 
Same  subject: 
Same  subject: 


Discrimination   130 

Specific  allowances   131 

Legality  of  allowances 134 

Plant  facility  136 

Allowances  as  rebates 138 

Criminal  liability  139 


SECTION  16 

1.     REPARATION 

Jurisdiction  of  Commission 140 

Necessity  of  primary  action  by  Commission 141 


vi  CONTENTS 

Necessity  and  effect  of  finding  of  unreasonableness 142 

Power  to  award  tort  damage 145 

Right  to  recover  and  necessity  of  protest 147 

Necessity  of  first  paying  tariff  rate 147 

Parties  entitled  to  recover 148 

Statute  of  Limitations 149 

Method  of  obtaining  reparation 149 

Court  pleadings  150 

SECTION  16a 
Rehearings   152 

SECTION  17 

1.     PROCEDURE 

In  general  153 

Complaint 154 

Notice  of  complaint 156 

Amending  complaint 156 

Hearing   157 

Rehearing  157 

Orders  of  the  Commission 158 

SECTION  18 
Salaries  of  Commission 159 

SECTION  19 
Office  of  the  Commission 160 

SECTION  20 

1.       REPORTS 
2.    THE  CARMACK  AMENDMENT 

In  general  167 

Jurisdiction  of  Commission 169 

Jurisdiction  of  state  courts 169 

Liability  of  initial  carrier 170 

Limitation  of  liability 170 

Liability  for  negligence 173 

Notice  of  loss 174 

SECTION  21 
Report  by  Commission 176 

SECTION  22 

1.     REDUCED  RATES 

Charitable  institutions  178 

Returned  shipments  179 


CONTENTS  vii 

SECTION  23 
Jurisdiction  of  United  States  courts 181 

SECTION  24 
The  Interstate  Commerce  Commission 181 

MISCELLANEOUS  ACTS 

District  Court  Jurisdiction  Act 182 

Compulsory  Testimony  Act 183 

Elkins  Act 184 

Expediting  Act  185 

Parcel  Post  Act 185 

Boiler  Inspection  Act 186 

Safety  Appliance  Act 187 

Block  Signal  Act 187 

Monthly  Reports  of  Accidents  Act 188 

Hours  of  Service  Act 188 

Transportation  of  Explosives  Act 189 


INTRODUCTION 

It  may  be  stated  that  almost  from  the  time  there  was  a 
railroad  in  the  United  States  regulation  has  been  neces- 
sary. The  first  railroad  in  the  United  States  was  the 
Quincy  Railroad,  built  in  1826;  then  in  1827  the  Mauch 
Chunk,  9  miles  long  and  costing  $27,000,  was  constructed 
in  63  days.  The  Baltimore  &  Ohio,  15  miles  long  and 
using  horse  power,  was  built  in  1830.  The  Mohawk  & 
Hudson  was  built  in  1831  and  was  the  first  to  use  the  loco- 
motive. In  1835  there  were  in  the  whole  United  States 
918  miles  of  railroad. 

Now  it  is  a  curious  thing  that  on  June  14,  1839, 
the  first  state  board  of  railroad  commissioners  was 
appointed  by  an  act  passed  by  the  general  assembly  of 
Rhode  Island.  Section  2  provided  that  it  should  be  the 
duty  of  the  board  of  commissioners  upon  complaint  or 
otherwise,  whenever  a  majority  of  them  should  deem  it 
expedient,  personally  to  examine  into  any  or  all  of  the 
transactions  or  proceedings  of  any  railroad  that  might 
be  established  in  the  state.  Two  objects  were  to  be 
gained  from  such  investigations:  (1)  to  secure  full  and 
equal  privileges  for  the  transportation  of  persons  and 
property  in  proportion  to  the  distances  any  such  persons 
or  property  might  be  transported  on  any  railroad;  (2)  to 
inquire  into  any  contract  or  agreement  by  which  any 
railroad  company  should  attempt  to  transfer  or  give  to 
any  steamboat  company  favors  or  preferences  over  any 
such  company  or  boat,  whether  as  to  freight  or  passen- 
gers, contrary  to  the  intent  and  meaning  of  the  Act. 

We  see,  therefore,  that  only  thirteen  years  after  the 
first  railroad  was  built  it  was  considered  necessary  to 


2  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

regulate  the  carriers.  Other  states  followed,  and  as  lines 
were  built  it  was  found  necessary  to  control  them.  Thus, 
between  1839  and  1887  the  following  states  created  rail- 
road commissions,  in  the  order  named:  Rhode  Island, 
Vermont,  New  Hampshire,  Connecticut,  New  York, 
Maine,  Tennessee,  Ohio,  Massachusetts,  Minnesota,  Illi- 
nois, Michigan,  Georgia,  Virginia,  Wisconsin,  Missouri, 
California,  Iowa,  South  Carolina,  Kentucky,  Alabama, 
and  Kansas. 

In  1887  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  was  cre- 
ated to  regulate  such  traffic  moving  between  the  various 
states  as  was  not  regulated  by  the  state  commissions. 
The  authority  under  which  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission  was  created  and  given  its  powers  was  known 
as  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act. 

The  original  act  created  a  commission  of  five  members 
and  gave  it  certain  powers  over  railroads.  The  courts 
soon  held  that  the  Commission  had  not  been  given  the 
rate-making  power  and  it  became  evident  that  further 
legislation  was  necessary  if  the  Commission  was  ever  to 
benefit  the  public  as  was  intended.  In  1903  the  Elkins 
law  was  passed,  which  provided  drastic  punishment  for 
the  giving  of  rebates  or  concessions  from  the  rates.  In 
1906  an  act  was  passed  giving  the  Commission  the  right 
to  fix  maximum  rates  for  the  future,  which,  together  with 
the  power  to  suspend  advances  in  rates  given  by  the  law 
of  1910,  has  given  to  the  Commission  the  power  to  en- 
force one  of  the  most  elaborate  systems  of  governmental 
regulation  ever  devised.  Its  power  is  broad  and  is  prac- 
tically unlimited  for  the  elimination  of  unreasonable 
charges  and  unjust  discrimination. 

In  the  United  States  today  there  are  approximately 
260,000  miles  of  railroad,  employing  millions  of  men  and 
representing  an  investment  of  billions  of  dollars.  The 
magnitude  of  this  business  is  so  great  that  it  cannot  be 


INTRODUCTION  3 

grasped  by  the  average  mind.  The  quick  interchange 
of  commodities  is  so  dependent  upon  the  railroad  and  so 
much  a  part  of  the  business  of  every  industrial  establish- 
ment that  the  importance  of  the  transportation  question 
cannot  be  overestimated.  The  Interstate  Commerce  Act 
has  become  the  most  magnificent  instance  of  regulation 
of  great  public  utilities  that  modern  civilization  has  been 
able  to  develop.  It  is,  therefore,  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance that  one  should  be  thoroughly  acquainted  with  its 
various  provisions.  He  should  know  it  by  heart  and  he 
should  know  in  detail  the  construction  which  has  been 
given  it.  It  is  a  regrettable  thing  to  say  that  in  the  past 
the  traffic  man  has  to  a  great  extent  neglected  to  familiar- 
ize himself  with  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act. 

Up  to  very  recently  there  had  been  no  analysis  made 
of  the  principles  governing  traffic.  This,  coupled  with 
the  fact  that  the  Act  itself  was  very  long  and  intricate, 
proved  too  much  for  any  except  the  most  ambitious. 
It  is  now  shown  that  there  are  something  like  15,000 
principles  governing  the  movement  of  interstate  traffic 
and  these  have  been  classified  and  analyzed  so  as  to  be 
easily  accessible.  In  the  following  pages  they  have  been 
so  condensed  and  simplified  that  whoever  will  take  the 
trouble  carefully  and  conscientiously  to  study  the  subject 
as  therein  discussed  will  receive  an  education  that  will 
enable  him  to  apply  the  Act  with  a  good  degree  of  under- 
standing. 

In  this  treatise  the  Act  has  been  discussed  section  by 
section,  as  this  seems  to  be  the  most  satisfactory  method. 
It  will  be  found  that  in  some  cases  the  same  subject  is 
treated  in  more  than  one  section  for  the  reason  that  in 
amending  the  original  Act  to  Eegulate  Commerce  from 
time  to  time,  the  amendments  were  not  always  made  to 
the  existing  sections,  but  were  made  by  putting  in  addi- 
tional sections.    For  example,  we  find  that  Section  11 


4  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

provides  that  the  Commission  shall  consist  of  five  mem- 
bers; in  Section  24,  added  June  29,  1906,  it  is  provided 
that  the  Commission  shall  consist  of  seven  members. 

In  treating  each  section,  reference  is  made  to  other 
sections  that  bear  upon  the  same  subject.  It  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  in  a  short  treatise  like  this  it  is  not 
possible  to  treat  all  the  points  that  might  be  considered 
in  the  study  of  so  large  a  subject  as  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Act.  It  has  been  the  endeavor  of  the  author  to 
set  out  briefly  and  clearly  only  the  important  principles. 


SECTION  1 

Scope. — The  first  section  is  one  of  the  most  important, 
since  it  is  the  one  which  defines  the  application  of  the 
statute.  For  the  exact  language  it  will  be  necessary  for 
the  reader  to  refer  to  the  back  of  this  book,  where  the 
Act  itself  will  be  found. 

The  Act  applies  to  any  corporation  or  person  engaged 
in  the  transportation  of  oil  or  other  commodity  (except 
water  and  natural  and  artificial  gas)  by  means  of  pipe 
lines  exclusively  or  in  conjunction  with  railroads  or  other 
carriers;  to  telegraph,  telephone,  and  cable  companies, 
whether  wire  or  wireless;  and  to  any  common  carrier 
engaged  in  the  transportation  of  persons  or  property 
wholly  by  railroad  or  in  conjunction  with  water  carriers 
when  both  are  used  under  a  common  control,  manage- 
ment, or  arrangement  for  a  continuous  carriage  or  ship- 
ment from  one  state  or  territory  of  the  United  States  or 
the  District  of  Columbia,  to  any  other  state  or  territory, 
or  to  the  District  of  Columbia,  or  from  one  place  in  a 
territory  to  another  place  in  the  same  territory,  or  from 
one  place  in  the  United  States  to  an  adjacent  foreign 
country,  or  from  any  place  in  the  United  States  through 
a  foreign  country  to  any  other  place  in  the  United  States. 
It  also  applies  to  the  transportation  of  property  shipped 
from  any  place  in  the  United  States  to  a  foreign  country 
and  carried  from  such  place  to  a  port  of  transshipment, 
or  shipped  from  a  foreign  country  to  any  place  in  the 
United  States,  and  carried  to  such  place  from  a  port  of 
entry  either  in  the  United  States  or  in  an  adjacent  for- 
eign country. 


6  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  Act  applies  to 
interstate  commerce  or  to  foreign  commerce  only  to  the 
extent  provided  for. 

While  the  provisions  of  Section  1  just  given  specify 
the  classes  of  transportation  agencies  that  are  subject  to 
the  Act,  it  may  be  well  to  note  the  most  common  indi- 
vidual agencies  that  are  subject  to  the  Act.  Among 
these  are  the  following:  railroads,  express  companies, 
pipe  lines,  sleeping-car  companies,  telegraph  companies, 
wireless  companies,  cable  companies,  electric  railroad 
companies,  refrigerator  lines,  and  water  carriers  when 
operating  in  connection  with  rail  carriers  in  the  handling 
of  interstate  traffic. 

It  will  be  noted  that  water  carriers  are  subject  to  the 
Act  only  in  connection  with  rail  carriers.  It  may  be 
helpful  in  getting  a  full  understanding  of  this  provision 
to  illustrate  when  a  water  carrier  would  and  when  it 
would  not  be  subject  to  the  Act.  A  shipment  moving 
from  New  York  to  New  Orleans  by  a  boat  line  is  not 
subject  to  the  Act,  but  if  the  shipment  moves  from  Pitts- 
burgh to  New  York  by  rail,  and  from  New  York  to  New 
Orleans  by  water,  on  a  through  bill  of  lading  from  Pitts- 
burgh to  New  Orleans,  it  is  subject  to  the  Act.  This  is 
because  in  the  latter  case  the  boat  line  is  used  in  con- 
junction with  a  rail  carrier  under  a  common  arrangement 
in  moving  an  interstate  shipment. 

The  Act  provides  that  it  does  not  govern  the  movement 
of  shipments  when  entirely  within  a  state.  However,  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  if  the  shipment,  in  moving 
from  one  point  in  a  state  to  another  point  in  the  same 
state,  passes  out  of  that  state  at  any  point,  the  traffic  be- 
comes interstate  and  is  hence  subject  to  the  interstate 
commerce  law.  As  an  example,  suppose  a  shipment  were 
moving  from  New  York  City  to  Albany,  N.  Y.  If  this  ship- 
ment moved  from  New  York  City  to  Weehawken,  N.  J., 


SECTION  1  7 

for  transportation  via  the  West  Shore  Railroad,  the  ship- 
ment would  be  interstate  within  the  meaning  of  the  Act 
and  therefore  subject  to  tariff  filed  with  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Commission.  However,  if  the  shipment  moved 
from  New  York  City  to  Albany  via  the  New  York  Cen- 
tral &  Hudson  River  Railroad,  it  would  not  pass  out  of 
the  state  of  New  York  and  consequently  would  not  be 
subject  to  interstate  tariffs,  but  would  be  intrastate 
within  the  meaning  of  the  word  as  used  in  the  Act.  It 
will  often  be  found  that  shipments  moving  between  the 
same  points  within  a  state  may  be  interstate  or  intrastate 
according  to  the  route  used.  It  is  quite  common  to  find 
that  shipments  may  move  over  one  road  and  be  intrastate 
because  the  road  is  entirely  within  that  state,  while  it 
may  be  interstate  over  another  road  because  the  second 
road  passes  out  of  the  state  en  route.  It  is  quite  often 
necessary,  therefore,  to  know  the  exact  route  used  in  the 
movement  of  a  shipment  in  order  to  ascertain  whether 
it  is  interstate  or  intrastate. 

On  page  14  will  be  found  definitions  of  some  of  the 
terms  used  in  connection  with  the  last  part  of  Section  1. 
For  example,  we  find  that  the  term  " transportation" 
does  not  mean  simply  the  moving  of  freight  from  one 
point  to  another,  as  might  be  supposed,  but  that  it  speci- 
fies a  number  of  things  beyond  what  is  generally  consid- 
ered as  being  included  in  the  term  " transportation"  as 
used  in  the  Act. 

Pipe  lines. — The  Interstate  Commerce  Act  has  placed 
pipe  lines  under  the  authority  of  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission.  The  Commission  has  investigated  the  rela- 
tions between  the  pipe  lines  and  has  decided  that  they 
are  common  carriers  and  must  transport  oil  for  all  along 
their  lines  without  discrimination,  and,  like  other  car- 
riers, must  file  tariffs  of  their  rates. 


8  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

Prior  to  the  Hepburn  Amendment  of  1906,  the  pipe-line 
companies  had  never  been  so  considered.  They  have 
never  held  themselves  out  to  the  world  as  such,  but  have 
made  it  their  business  to  buy  oil  at  the  producing  well, 
transport  it  by  means  of  their  own  pipe  lines  across  state 
boundaries,  and  sell  it  in  other  states.  They  claimed  to 
be  dealers  in  oil  who  use  their  own  pipe  lines  solely  to 
convey  their  own  property  from  state  to  state.  For  in- 
stance, oil  from  Oklahoma  points  was  transported  by  the 
Oklahoma  Pipe  Line  Company  for  the  Prairie  Oil  and 
Gas  Company  to  McCurtin  on  the  Oklahoma-Kansas  state 
line.  There  it  was  to  be  delivered  to  the  Prairie  Oil  and 
Gas  Company,  which  transported  it  by  its  own  line  across 
the  southwestern  corner  of  Arkansas  to  Ida,  La.,  where 
delivery  was  said  to  be  made  to  the  Standard  Oil  Com- 
pany of  Louisiana.  This  company  transported  the  oil  to 
its  refinery  at  Baton  Kouge,  La.,  where  it  was  refined. 
When  it  left  Oklahoma,  the  oil  was  destined  for  storage 
in  Louisiana.  The  pipe-line  companies  contended  there 
was  a  breakage  of  transit  at  each  state  line  and  that  the 
transportation  was  not  interstate  and  therefore  not  sub- 
ject to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Commission.  The  Commis- 
sion held  that  the  stoppage  in  transit  was  not  made  in 
good  faith  and  that  the  intention  of  Congress  was  to 
make  all  interstate  pipe  lines  common  carriers,  and  or- 
dered them  to  file  with  the  Commission  schedules  of  their 
rates  and  charges  for  the  transportation  of  oil. 

This  case  was  appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States.  There  it  was  held  that,  although  prior 
to  the  passage  of  the  Hepburn  Act,  pipe  lines  might  have 
been  private  carriers,  it  was  proposed  in  that  act  to 
provide  that  if  they  desire  to  continue  in  business, 
they  must  be  common  carriers.  Hence,  at  the  present 
time  a  pipe  line  stands  on  the  same  footing  as  a  railroad. 
It  must  publish  and  file  its  tariffs  with  the  Interstate 


SECTION  1  9 

Commerce  Commission,  designating  its  rates  for  the 
transportation  of  oil.  It  must  receive  oil  from  whomever 
tenders  it  and  carry  it  to  destination.  It  cannot  discrim- 
inate in  rates  between  shippers,  give  rebates,  charge  a 
higher  rate  to  a  farther  distant  point,  or  give  facilities  to 
one  and  deny  them  to  another  similarly  situated.  It  is  in 
all  respects  subject  to  the  same  limitations  and  restric- 
tions as  a  railroad. 

Common  control,  management,  or  arrangement. — One 
of  the  provisions  of  the  Act  which  has  occasioned  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  discussion  has  been  that  part  of 
Section  1  referring  to  water  carriers.  It  should  not  be 
understood,  however,  that  Congress  has  not  authority 
over  interstate  transportation  by  water,  because  it  does 
have  power  to  pass  such  legislation  if  it  is  nec- 
essary to  do  so;  but  in  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Act  it  did  not  see  fit  to  exercise  its  admitted 
authority.  The  main  purpose  of  the  Act  is  to  regulate 
transportation  by  railroad.  The  regulation  of  water  lines 
was  considered  incidental  and  collateral  and  was  in- 
cluded in  order  that  the  regulation  of  railroads  might  be 
effective  and  not  subverted  by  an  arrangement  between 
railroads  and  water  lines.  Carriers  of  interstate  com- 
merce by  water,  therefore,  are  subject  to  the  Act  only 
in  respect  to  traffic  transported  under  a  common  control, 
management,  or  arrangement  with  a  rail  carrier.  By  the 
amendment  of  1912,  the  Commission  is  given  power  to 
couple  up  interstate  water  and  rail  carriers  and  order  in 
through  routes  and  joint  rates  between  sueh  carriers,  if 
necessary. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  note  the  reason  which  under- 
lies this  exemption.  As  has  been  seen  from  a  study  of 
the  introduction  to  this  treatise,  the  development  of  com- 
merce has  created  the  necessity  of  regulating  rail  car- 
riers.   The  only  carriers  competing  with  the  railroads  are 


10  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

those  that  operate  on  water.  It  has,  therefore,  been  the 
aim  of  the  railroads  to  dominate  their  rival  water  car- 
riers. Competition  by  water  is  the  most  potent  method 
of  reducing  rail  rates,  and  it  was  therefore  deemed  wise 
to  leave  this  competition  as  a  check  on  the  rail  carriers. 

Another  reason  for  not  restricting  the  water  carriers 
comes  up  in  the  case  of  foreign  commerce.  The  ocean  is 
a  highway,  free  to  all.  No  franchise  is  needed  to  sail  the 
seas,  nor  is  the  ownership  of  a  line  of  ships  founded 
either  in  law  or  in  economics  upon  the  theory  of  a  monop- 
oly which  underlies  the  relation  of  the  railroad  to  the 
state. 

The  phrase  "common  arrangement"  means  an  agree- 
ment or  understanding  between  connecting  carriers  with 
respect  to  the  transportation  of  merchandise  and  the 
charges  and  divisions  to  be  made  therefor. 

Some  typical  cases  are  as  follows:  A  steamship  com- 
pany operated  on  the  Great  Lakes  from  Buffalo,  New 
York,  to  West  Superior,  Wisconsin.  It  contracted  with  a 
shipper  to  protect1  a  rate  of  45  cents  on  iron  from  Emans, 
Pennsylvania,  to  Winnipeg,  Manitoba.  The  rate  pub- 
lished by  the  initial  and  delivering  rail  carriers  was  49^ 
cents.  The  steamship  company  did  not  concur  in  this 
rate.  The  railroads  were  not  informed  of  the  agreement 
between  the  shipper  and  the  steamship  company  for  the 
45-cent  rate,  and  the  bills  of  lading,  shipping  receipts, 
and  other  documents  called  for  a  rate  of  491/2  cents,  and 
specified  the  divisions  that  the  initial  and  delivering  car- 
riers were  to  receive.  This  rate  was  collected.  The 
steamship  company  rebated  the  difference  between  the 
49V2-cent  rate  and  the  45-cent  rate.  No  further  proof 
was  shown  of  any  other  undertaking  or  arrangement  be- 
tween the  rail  carriers  and  the  water  carriers.    It  was 

xThe   term   "protect"   as  here  used   means   that  the   boat   lines 
promised  that  the  rate  would  not  be  higher  than  45  cents. 


SECTION  1  11 

held  that  the  steamship  company  carrying  wholly  by 
water  was  not  shown  to  have  entered  into  a  "common 
arrangement"  with  the  rail  carriers  so  as  to  make  it  sub- 
ject to  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act,  and  could  not  be 
convicted  of  rebating  under  the  Elkins  Act,  and  that  the 
mere  agreement  by  an  independent  water  carrier  to  ac- 
cept freight  from  a  connecting  railroad  and  to  transport 
it  for  its  own  particular  rate  may  be  an  " arrangement" 
for  continuous  carriage,  but  it  is  not  a  ' '  common  arrange- 
ment" within  the  meaning  of  the  Act.2 

Broadly  speaking,  the  Act  does  not  apply  to  carriers 
by  water.  To  make  such  carriers  subject  to  the  Act  it 
must  be  shown  that  transportation  partly  by  railroad  and 
partly  by  water  is  made  under  a  common  control,  man- 
agement, or  arrangement  for  a  continuous  carriage  or 
shipment  from  one  state  or  territory  to  another  state  or 
territory.3 

Where  steamship  companies  operating  on  the  Great 
Lakes  file  with  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission 
their  joint  tariffs,  or  their  concurrence  in  tariffs  filed  by 
the  railroad  companies,  and  carry  for  hire  passengers 
and  freight  under  such  joint  tariffs  over  the  water  por- 
tion of  the  through  routes,  there  is  engagement  in  trans- 
portation in  so  far  as  both  water  and  rail  are  used  to 
carry  from  one  state  to  another,  and  there  is  within  the 
meaning  of  the  Act  as  amended  June  29,  1906,  a  common 
arrangement  made  for  a  continuous  shipment  of  passen- 
gers and  freight,  whereby  such  companies  have  brought 
themselves  within  the  terms  of  the  Act  and  are  subject  to 
such  of  its  provisions  as  are  applicable  to  carriers  under 
such  arrangement.4 


'Mutual  Transit  Co.  v.  U.  S.,  178  Fed.  664. 
'Mutual  Transit  Co.  v.  U.  S.,  178  Fed.  664. 
'Goodrich  Transit  Co.  v.  I.  C.  C,  190  Fed.  943,  959. 


12  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

An  order  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  re- 
quired statistical  information  of  certain  water  carriers  as 
to  the  routes  of  the  carriers  and  their  mileage;  the 
amount  of  traffic,  both  passenger  and  freight;  mileage 
and  revenue  statistics,  together  with  a  separation  of 
freights  into  the  quantity  of  the  various  products  trans- 
ported, showing  whether  originating  on  the  carrier's  line 
or  received  from  a  connecting  line;  and  a  general  descrip- 
tion of  any  separate  business  carried  on  by  the  carrier. 
It  was  held  that  the  Commission  did  not  exceed  its 
authority  as  to  the  form  of  the  reports  and  the  system  of 
accounting  described  and  that  the  Commission  could  re- 
quire such  reports  to  include  statistics  relating  to  port-to- 
port  state  traffic.5 

Three  carloads  of  potatoes,  loaded  in  "heater"  cars 
at  different  stations  on  the  line  of  the  Bangor  Eailway  & 
Electric  Company,  an  electric  railway,  for  shipment  via 
Bangor,  Maine,  and  the  Maine  Central  Kailroad,  to 
Hoboken,  New  Jersey,  were  damaged  by  freezing  in 
transit.  Though  the  shippers  intended  a  through  ship- 
ment to  Hoboken,  the  Bangor  Eailway  &  Electric  Com- 
pany issued  bills  of  lading  only  over  its  own  line,  but 
there  was  a  through  tariff  rate  from  points  of  shipment 
to  destination,  and  the  Maine  Central  Railroad,  in  re- 
ceiving the  cars  at  Bangor,  advanced  to  the  Bangor 
Railway  &  Electric  Company  its  proportion  of  the 
through  freight  charges.  It  was  held  that  the  latter  fact 
is  some  evidence  of  a  "common  control,  management,  or 
arrangement  for  a  continuous  carriage  or  shipment,"  as 
denned  by  Section  1  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act,  and 
that  therefore  the  Bangor  Railway  &  Electric  Company 
was  as  to  such  shipments  originally  within  the  scope  of 
the  Act  as  amended  by  the  Carmack  Amendment  and  as 

•I.  C.  C.  v.  Goodrich  Co.,  224  U.  S.  194,  211. 


SECTION  1  13 

initial  carrier  was  liable  for  the  defaults  of  connecting 
carriers.0 

The  publication  of  proportional  rates  by  rail  carriers 
and  a  lake  steamship  company  covering  through  inter- 
state transportation,  the  actual  movement  of  traffic  upon 
through  bills  of  lading,  and  the  prepayment  of  freight 
charges,  necessitating  an  accounting  between  the  car- 
riers, constitute  evidence  of  a  common  arrangement  for 
a  continuous  carriage.7 

Adjacent  foreign  country. — The  word  " adjacent"  as 
used  in  the  Act  to  modify  the  words  "foreign  country" 
means  a  country  adjacent  in  the  sense  of  there  being  sub- 
stantial continuity  of  rails.  Thus,  Cuba  is  not  an  "adja- 
cent foreign  country"  within  the  meaning  of  the  Act. 
Canada  and  Mexico  are  "adjacent  foreign  countries"  as 
specified  in  the  Act. 

While  the  discretion  of  the  Commission  in  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  Act  cannot  be  interfered  with  by  mandamus, 
yet  an  action  may  be  taken  to  compel  the  Commission  to 
take  jurisdiction  over  carriers  operating  between  Alaska 
and  the  United  States  and  between  Alaska  and  adjacent 
foreign  countries,  where  the  Commission  has  refused  to 
do  so  pursuant  to  its  belief  that  it  had  no  authority  over 
such  carriers.8 

Intrastate  commerce. — While  the  power  of  Congress  to 
regulate  the  field  of  interstate  commerce  is  supreme,  it 
may  fail  to  exercise  such  power  and  the  state  may  have 
power  to  act.  In  other  words,  simply  because  the  Inter- 
state Commerce  Act  exists,  it  does  not  follow  that  Con- 
gress has  so  occupied  the  field  of  interstate  commerce  as 
to  preclude  any  action  whatever  by  the  states.  But 
where  Congress  or  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission 

•Ross  v.  M.  C.  R.  R.  Co.  (Me.,  1914),  90  Atl.  711. 
'Flour  City  S.  S.  Co.  v.  L.  V.  R.  R.  Co.,  24  I.  C.  C.  179. 
•I.  C.  C.  v.  H.  S.  Co.,  224  U.  S.  474. 


14  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

has  passed  a  regulation  covering  a  specific  subject,  the 
state  can  no  longer  legislate  concerning  it.  Of  course, 
traffic  which  is  purely  intrastate,  that  is,  which  originates 
within  the  boundary  of  a  state  and  is  destined  to  a  point 
in  the  same  state  and  in  transit  does  not  pass  outside,  is 
subject  only  to  legislation  by  the  state.  Neither  Congress 
nor  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  has  any  power 
to  legislate  concerning  it,  although,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
states  may  sometimes  pass  laws  that  affect  interstate 
traffic.  Thus,  we  have  laws  that  trains  shall  not  sell  ciga- 
rettes or  liquors  within  the  boundaries  of  certain  states, 
that  locomotives  must  be  equipped  with  a  certain  kind  of 
headlight,  that  passenger  fares  shall  not  exceed  2  cents 
a  mile,  etc.  It  very  often  happens  that  a  certain  regula- 
tion, such  as  one  to  use  a  certain  kind  of  headlight,  may 
be  forced  upon  the  carrier  in  one  state,  while  a  neighbor- 
ing state  declares  its  use  illegal.  These  state  laws,  of 
course,  are  burdensome  to  the  carrier. 

The  Supreme  Court,  however,  recently  held,  in  what  is 
known  as  the  Shreveport  case,  that  when  a  system  of 
state  rates  is  of  such  a  character  that  to  reduce  them 
would  of  necessity  mean  the  reduction  of  interstate  rates, 
the  state  authorities  had  no  power  to  take  such  action. 
In  other  words,  where  state  rates  were  so  low  as  to  dis- 
criminate against  reasonable  interstate  rates,  the  state 
rates  had  to  give  way. 

Just  what  effect  this  decision  is  going  to  have  in  the  fu- 
ture it  is  hard  to  determine.  Its  logical  effect  would 
seem  to  be  that  whenever  a  state  rate  is  so  tied  up  with 
an  interstate  rate  that  the  state  rate  cannot  be  changed 
without  affecting  the  interstate  rate,  such  change  cannot 
be  made  without  the  consent  of  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission. 

Definitions. — In  stating  to  what  facilities,  privileges, 
and  instrumentalities  the  Act  applies,  certain  definitions 


SECTION  1  15 

are  made.  The  reader,  however,  is  cautioned  to  remem- 
ber that  the  Act  has  been  construed  to  cover  facilities 
and  privileges  not  specifically  enumerated.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  every  instrumentality,  facility,  or  privilege  con- 
nected with  interstate  commerce  is  subject  to  the  Act. 
The  term  ''railroad"  is  defined  to  include  all  bridges  and 
ferries  used  in  connection  with  any  railroad,  all  the  road 
used  by  any  railroad,  whether  owned  or  operated  under 
a  lease  or  other  contract,  and  all  switches,  spurs,  tracks, 
and  terminal  facilities  of  every  kind  used  or  necessary 
in  transportation,  including  freight  depots,  yards,  and 
houses.  The  term  "transportation"  includes  cars  and 
other  vehicles,  and  all  instrumentalities  and  facilities  of 
shipment  or  carriage,  irrespective  of  ownership  or  of  any 
contract  for  the  use  therefor.  It  includes  all  service  in 
connection  with  the  receipt,  delivery,  elevation,  and 
transfer  in  transit,  valuation,  refrigeration,  icing,  stor- 
age, and  handling  of  property  transported.  It  further 
provides  that  it  is  the  duty  of  every  carrier  subject  to  the 
Act  to  provide  transportation  upon  reasonable  request 
therefor,  to  establish  through  routes  and  reasonable  rates 
applicable  thereto,  and  to  provide  reasonable  facilities 
for  operating  through  routes  and  with  respect  to  the  ex-, 
change  and  interchange  of  cars. 

Charges. — It  is  provided  that  all  charges  for  any  serv- 
ices rendered  in  the  transportation  of  passengers  or  prop- 
erty or  for  the  transmission  of  messages  by  telegram  or 
telephone  or  cable,  or  in  connection  therewith,  shall  be 
just  and  reasonable,  and  every  unjust  and  unreasonable 
charge  for  such  service  is  prohibited.  The  question  as  to 
what  is  a  just  and  reasonable  rate  is  the  most  difficult  one 
raised  by  any  section  of  the  Act. 

As  will  be  seen  by  the  discussion  under  the  powers  of 
the  Commission,  in  the  determination  of  a  reasonable 
rate  there  are  dozens  of  elements  that  must  be  consid- 


16  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

ered.  The  duty  of  initiating  rates  rests  with  the  carrier. 
If,  however,  the  carrier  does  not  establish  a  reasonable 
rate,  the  authority  of  the  Commission  can  be  invoked  to 
determine  the  justness  of  the  rate.  However,  under  Sec- 
tion 15,  the  carrier  is  entitled  to  have  a  finding  by  the 
Commission  that  any  particular  charge  is  unreasonable 
and  unjust  before  it  is  required  to  change  such  charge.9 

The  question  of  what  is  a  reasonable  rate  presents  the 
most  difficult  question  to  determine.  A  railroad  is  en- 
titled to  such  a  schedule  of  rates  as  will  permit  it  to  earn 
a  fair  return  upon  the  capital  invested.  Perhaps  the  best 
discussion  in  this  matter  is  found  in  the  following  case. 

In  Coal  &  Coke  Ey.  Co.  v.  Conley, 10  the  court  said : 

"What  constitutes  a  fair  and  reasonable  return  for  the 
use  of  invested  capital  has  never  been  definitely  settled 
by  the  adoption  of  any  particular  standard  for  all  pur- 
poses and  to  govern  under  all  conditions.  It  seems  to  be 
difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  lay  down  any  rule  or  prin- 
ciple that  will  operate  equitably  and  justly  under  all 
circumstances.  Ordinarily,  the  return  generally  realized 
upon  similar  investments  in  the  locality  of  the  one  under 
consideration  is  deemed  fair  and  guaranteed  to  the  in- 
vestor, and  the  estimate  is  based  upon  the  amount 
actually  invested  in  good  faith,  fictitious  valuations,  indi- 
cated by  overissues  of  stocks  and  bonds,  and  not  repre- 
senting actual  money,  being  rejected."11 

The  mere  fact  that  a  corporation  has  outstanding 
bonds  and  stocks  in  large  amounts,  on  which  holders 
claim  interest  and  dividends,  is  by  no  means  conclusive 


10) 


1.  C.  C.  v.  Stickney,  215  U.  S.  98. 

°W.  Va.  (March  8,  1910),  67  S.  E.  613,  p.  639. 

'Smyth  v.  Ames,  169  U.  S.  466,  544;  18  Sup.  Ct.  418;  42  L.  Ed. 
819;  Covington,  etc.,  Co.  v.  Sandford,  164  U.  S.  578;  17  Sup.  Ct.  398; 
41  L.  Ed.  560;  Dow  v.  Beidelman,  125  U.  S.  680;  8  Sup.  Ct.  1028; 
31  L.  Ed.  841 ;  Stanislaus  County  v.  Canal  &  Irrigation  Co.,  192  U.  S. 
201 ;  24  Sup.  Ct.  241 ;  48  L.  Ed.  406 ;  Spring  Valley  Water  Works  v. 
Schottler,  110  U.  S.  347;  4  Sup.  Ct.  48;  28  L.  Ed.  173;  Railroad  Com. 
Cases,  116  U.  S.  307;  6  Sup.  Ct.  334,  338,  1191;  29  L.  Ed.  636. 


SECTION  1  17 

of  the  value  of  the  property  or  the  amount  actually  in- 
vested. Exorbitant  rates  cannot  be  exacted  from  the 
public  for  the  sole  reason  that  persons  interested  in  a 
corporation  have  contracted  with  it  and  with  one  another 
for  profits  in  excess  of  that  which  amounts  to  a  reason- 
able and  fair  return  on  the  money  actually  invested  or 
the  equivalent  of  the  actual  value  of  the  plant.  The  cap- 
italization or  actual  cost  may  far  exceed  the  utmost  value 
of  the  company's  property,  for  some  reason.  The  plant 
may  have  been  built  at  an  extravagant  and  wasteful  cost, 
or  may  not  be  well  adapted  to  the  uses  for  which  it  was 
intended.  Under  exceptional  and  peculiar  circumstances, 
what  would  be  ordinarily  a  reasonable  rate  of  profit  on 
the  entire  investment  is  disallowed,  as  being  more  than 
the  service  is  worth  to  the  public  and  therefore  unjust 
to  it.  If,  in  construction  or  purchase,  more  money  has 
been  put  into  a  plant  than  is  required  for  one  adequate 
to  the  demands  of  the  community,  the  usual  return  on 
such  sum  would  be  more  than  the  service  rendered  the 
public  worth.  Both  the  public  and  the  public  service 
investor  are  to  be  considered,  and  justice  done  to  each.12 
The  result  of  these  and  other  decisions  is  that  almost 
every  case  must  be  dealt  with  in  the  light  of  its  own 
peculiar  facts  and  circumstances,  it  being  impossible  to 
lay  down  any  rule  for  invariable  application  to  all.  In 
respect  to  the  rate  of  compensation,  there  ought  to  be  less 
uncertainty;  but  as  to  it,  the  circumstances  of  each  case 
seem  to  have  some  bearing ;  and,  besides,  what  is  said  on 
the  subject  is  often  somewhat  confused  with  the  discus- 
sion of  the  value.  This  is  especially  true  of  those  cases 
in  which  the  value  of  the  service  to  the  public  is  dis- 
cussed. 

"Smyth  v.  Ames,  169  U.  S.  446,  18  Sup.  Ct.  418,  42  L.  Ed.  819; 
Covington,  etc.,  Co.  v.  Sandford,  164  U.  S.  578,  17  Sup.  Ct.  198;  41 
L.  Ed.  560;  San  Diego,  etc.,  Co.  v.  Jasper,  189  U.  S.  439,  23  Sup.  Ct. 
671,  47  L.  Ed.  892. 


18  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

In  almost  every  case,  it  is  possible  to  begin  the 
discussion  from  the  standpoint  of  either  party,  or  to 
begin  at  each  end  and  conclude  in  the  middle.  However, 
it  seems  to  be  generally  held  that  in  the  absence  of  pecu- 
liar and  extraordinary  conditions,  such  as  a  more  costly 
plant  than  the  public  service  of  the  community  requires, 
or  the  erection  of  a  plant  at  an  extravagant  cost,  or  the 
purchase  of  one  at  an  exorbitant  or  inflated  price,  the 
actual  amount  of  money  invested  is  to  be  taken  as  a  basis. 
Upon  this  a  return  must  be  allowed  equivalent  to  that 
which  is  ordinarily  received  in  the  locality  in  which  the 
business  is  done,  upon  capital  invested  in  similar  enter- 
prises. In  addition  to  this,  consideration  must  be  given 
to  the  nature  of  the  investment,  a  higher  rate  being  re- 
garded as  justified  by  the  risk  incident  to  a  hazardous 
investment.  From  this  it  is  obvious  that  the  courts  have 
not,  and  cannot,  establish  any  particular  rate  for  all  con- 
cerns, all  classes  of  business,  and  all  communities,  as  a 
limit  upon  the  powers  of  the  legislature  to  regulate  it. 
To  some  extent,  therefore,  every  case  must  stand  upon 
its  own  circumstances  in  respect  to  the  rate  to  be  allowed 
as  well  as  the  valuation  upon  which  it  is  to  be  calculated; 
but  the  rate  is  obviously  affected  in  a  lesser  degree  by 
peculiar  circumstances  than  the  valuation  to  which  it  is 
applicable.  As  we  have  said,  the  courts  do  not  establish 
rates;  the  extent  of  their  power  is  to  nullify  rates  when 
found  to  be  so  low  as  to  work  confiscation  of  property  or 
deprivation  of  the  equal  protection  of  the  laws.13 

In  State  v.  N.  P.  Ky  Co.,14  the  North  Dakota  Supreme 
Court  said: 

"Wilcox  v.  Gas  Co.,  212  U.  S.  19;  29  Sup.  Ct.  148;  53  L.  Ed.  371, 
382;  Knoxville  v.  Water  Co.,  212  U.  S.  1;  Stanislaus  County  v.  Water 
Co.,  192  U.  S.  201;  24  Sup.  Ct.  241;  48  L.  Ed.  406;  Land  Co.  v.  Jasper, 
189  U.  S.  439;  23  Sup.  Ct.  571;  47  L.  Ed.  892;  Reagan  v.  Loan  & 
Trust  Co.,  154  U.  S.  362;  14  Sup.  Ct.  137;  38  L.  Ed.  1014. 

"N.  D.  (1909),  120  N.  W.  869,  affirmed  216  U.  S.  579,  p.  871. 


SECTION  1  19 

"For  the  purpose  of  showing  the  unreasonableness  of 
rates  fixed,  will  defendant  be  permitted  to  single  out  the 
one  commodity  to  which  the  rates  apply,  and  prove,  as 
it  has  attempted  to  do  in  this  case,  that  the  transporta- 
tion thereof  is  a  losing  proposition  to  the  carrier;  or 
must  it  not  show  that  if  such  rates  are  enforced  it  will  be 
unable  from  the  total  freight  receipts  to  earn  a  sum 
above  operating  expenses  sufficient  to  yield  a  fair  and 
reasonable  profit  upon  its  investment,  provided  the  road 
was  economically  and  efficiently  constructed  and  oper- 
ated?" 

Kailroads  are  the  private  property  of  their  owners  and 
while  from  the  public  character  of  the  work  in  which 
they  are  engaged  the  public  has  the  power  to  prescribe 
rules  for  securing  just  and  efficient  service  and  equality 
between  the  shippers  and  communities,  yet  in  no  proper 
sense  is  the  public  a  general  manager.  "What  is  a  reason- 
able freight  rate  cannot,  strictly  speaking,  be  the  subject 
of  agreement  between  carriers  and  shippers,  or  between 
carriers  and  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission.  If  in 
a  given  case,  after  weighing  all  feasible  contentions  by 
the  parties,  the  Commission  is  clearly  of  the  conviction 
that  the  rates  in  effect  are  wrong,  it  is  its  duty  to  substi- 
tute for  those  rates  others  which  it  believes  to  be  right, 
but  it  is  not  required  to  interfere  unless  clearly  of  the  con- 
viction that  the  schedule  in  effect  is  unlawful.  A  just 
and  reasonable  rate  must  be  one  which  respects  alike  the 
carriers'  interests  and  the  character  of  the  traffic.  The 
words  "just  and  reasonable"  imply  the  application  of 
good  faith  and  fairness,  of  common  sense  and  a  sense  of 
justice  in  accordance  with  the  given  condition  of  facts. 
They  are  not  fixed,  unalterable  terms.  Their  meaning 
implies  the  exercise  of  judgment. 

In  fixing  a  rate,  however,  the  Commission  must  be  con- 
scious in  its  consideration  of  its  effect  upon  the  policy  of 


20  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

the  railroads  and  ultimately  upon  the  welfare  of  the  state. 
The  country  cannot  afford  to  have  poor  railroads  ineffi- 
ciently equipped,  unsubstantially  built,  and  carelessly 
operated,  but  in  the  giving  of  service  the  railroad  man- 
agement should  be  the  most  progressive.  It  should  have 
wide  latitude  for  experiment.  It  should  have  such  en- 
couragement as  would  stimulate  the  imagination  of  both 
the  engineer  and  investor.  However,  it  must  be  borne  in 
mind  that  the  Government  is  not  the  railroad's  manager 
and  neither  is  the  Commission,  and  no  matter  what  the 
revenue  the  railroads  may  receive,  there  is  no  control 
upon  its  expenditure,  no  improvement  directed,  and  no 
economy  enforced.15 

Freight  rates  cannot  be  made  solely  with  reference 
to  the  value  of  the  article  transported  or  with  reference  to 
the  loss  and  damage  claims  arising  from  transportation. 
The  carrier  is  entitled  to  take  into  consideration  the  occu- 
pancy of  its  equipment  and  facilities,  or,  in  other  words, 
to  charge  for  the  service  rendered.  This  charge  for  the 
service  rendered  may  be  based  upon  the  rate  per  ton  per 
mile,  which  is  most  helpful  in  connection  with  dense, 
heavy  articles.  The  value  of  the  service  and  the  reason- 
ableness of  the  rate  may  be  tested  by  means  of  the  rate 
per  car  per  mile,  where  articles  of  the  same  relative 
weight,  density,  direction,  and  volume  of  movement  are 
in  question.  But  generally  the  ultimate  test  with  the 
carrier  itself  must  be  the  return  for  the  occupation  and 
use  of  its  equipment  and  facilities. 

The  American  railroad  rate  has  always  been  recognized 
as  covering  the  full  service  which  the  carrier  gives — fur- 
nishing the  car  and  a  proper  place  at  which  to  load  it, 
the  conveyance  of  that  loaded  car,  and  its  terminal  deliv- 
ery. In  America  the  charge  for  these  various  services 
is  not  broken  up  into  its  component  parts  and  a  charge 

"Advances  in  Rates — Western  Case,  20  I.  C.  C.  307. 


SECTION  1  21 

imposed  for  each,  as  in  England.  The  rate  which  must  be 
published  is  a  complete  rate,  which  includes  not  only  a 
charge  for  the  haul  but  a  charge  for  the  use  of  the  ter- 
minals at  both  ends  of  the  line. 

There  are  dozens  of  elements  which  have  been  consid- 
ered in  the  fixing  of  reasonable  rates.  Some  naturally 
have  been  given  greater  weight  than  others.  The  more 
important  have  been  as  follows:  the  bona  fide  invest- 
ment of  the  carrier,  its  capitalization,  car-mile  or  train- 
mile  revenue,  cost  of  operation,  cost  of  service,  distance 
of  haul,  character  of  equipment  furnished,  fixed  charges, 
long  continuance  of  a  prior  low  rate,  competition  of  mar- 
kets, competition  by  other  railroads  or  by  water  carriers, 
necessity  for  more  revenue,  character  of  improvements, 
previous  haul  on  raw  material  where  the  manufactured 
product  is  shipped  out,  profit  of  the  shipper,  reproduc- 
tion value  of  the  railroad,  risk  of  loss  or  damage,  size  of 
community  served,  value  of  commodity  hauled,  value  of 
service  rendered,  volume  of  traffic,  and  weight  and  char- 
acter of  shipment. 

As  a  practical  proposition,  the  proof  concerning  the  un- 
reasonableness of  individual  rates  is  often  different  from 
that  pertaining  to  an  entire  system  of  rates.  The  invest-, 
ment  of  the  carrier,  for  instance,  in  carrying  a  specified 
kind  of  traffic,  such  as  piano  traffic,  cannot  be  ascertained; 
so  in  such  instances  the  most  common  method  of  proof  is 
to  compare  the  rate  attacked  with  rates  on  similar  com- 
modities transported  under  similar  conditions,  either  by 
the  defendant  carrier  or  by  other  railroads.  Of  course, 
on  heavy  commodities,  such  as  coal,  lumber,  and  the  like, 
where  such  traffic  constitutes  from  one-third  to  two-thirds 
of  the  entire  freight  traffic  of  the  carrier,  accountants 
often  endeavor  to  ascertain  the  investment  of  the  carrier 
in  such  traffic,  and  the  actual  cost  of  the  service.  If  such 
statistics  are  accurately  ascertained,  they  are  very  im- 


22  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

portant  in  the  determination  of  what  is  a  reasonable  rate 
for  such  traffic. 

At  least  one  of  these  elements,  or  all  of  them  together 
with  many  others,  may  be  considered  in  the  fixing  of  any 
one  particular  rate.  Generally  speaking,  however,  the 
following  is  true :  Once  the  comparative  cost  for  various 
services  is  learned,  a  schedule  of  rates  may  be  made 
which  will  approach  justice  as  to  the  services.  Supple- 
ment this  with  scientific  classification  of  freight,  giving 
due  weight  to  all  the  various  factors,  such  as  value,  bulk, 
and  hazard,  especially  to  value;  add  return  for  use  of 
plant,  and  force  is  given  to  every  factor.16 

It  should  be  noted  that  the  rates  of  telephone  and  tele- 
graph companies  and  the  like  rest  upon  a  somewhat  dif- 
ferent basis  from  that  of  rates  of  railroads.  However,  as 
such  companies  are  public-service  companies  and  are 
subject  to  the  provisions  of  the  law  that  prohibit  undue 
preference  and  unjust  discrimination  on  any  grounds 
whatsoever,  it  is  manifest  that  nothing  but  a  difference 
in  the  services  rendered  or  in  the  facilities  furnished 
would  justify  any  difference  in  the  charges  exacted. 
The  telegraph  and  telephone  companies  are  permitted  to 
classify  their  messages  into  day,  night,  unrepeated,  etc., 
and  to  enter  into  contracts  for  the  exchange  of  services 
with  common  carriers. 

Jurisdiction  of  Commission  over  classification. — Inas- 
much as  the  Act  confers  specifically  upon  the  Commission 
the  power  to  regulate  classification,  it  may  be  well  to 
examine  briefly  into  the  subject.  As  the  reader  knows, 
classification  is  that  arbitrary  division  of  freight  into 
classes  by  which  a  rate  is  provided  for  each  class.17 
It  is  a  matter  of  extreme  importance  into  what  class 

"Advances  in  Rates— Western  Case,  20  I.  C.  C.  307. 
"The  subject  of  Freight  Classification  is  fully   explained    in    the 
treatise  on  that  subject. 


SECTION  1  23 

commodities  are  placed,  because  in  the  absence  of  a  spe- 
cific commodity  rate  the  class  rate,  that  is,  the  rate 
dependent  upon  the  classification,  governs.  In  the  ab- 
sence of  statutory  restriction,  a  carrier  is  entitled  to  es- 
tablish reasonable  rules  and  regulations  governing  the 
manner  and  form  in  which  it  will  receive  such  articles 
of  commerce  as  it  is  bound  to  carry,  as  well  as  the  manner 
in  which  they  shall  be  packed  and  prepared  for  shipment, 
so  that  they  may  be  delivered  with  convenience,  safety, 
and  dispatch.  The  carrier  has  also  the  power  to  alter 
and  modify  such  rules  from  time  to  time  as  it  may  deem 
proper  and  expedient  upon  reasonable  notice  to  the 
public.18 

Where  the  classification  primarily  affects  and  controls 
the  rates  or  charges  demanded  or  collected  by  the  carrier, 
or  publishes  the  regulations  or  practices  affecting  rates, 
the  Commission  is  authorized  to  pass  upon  such  rates, 
charges,  regulations,  or  practices.19  But  a  classification 
will  not  be  changed  by  the  Commission  unless  it  fairly 
appears  that  a  particular  article  is  not  rated  with  other 
articles  similar  in  value,  weight,  and  other  essential 
transportation  qualities. 

The  Commission,  of  course,  has  the  power  to  determine, 
the  reasonableness  of  the  difference  made  between  the 
rates  on  various  kinds  of  commodities.  It  cannot  say, 
however,  that  a  rate  shall  be  fixed  so  as  to  meet  the  re- 
quirements or  needs  of  any  body  of  shippers  in  their 
efforts  to  reach  a  given  market;  nor  can  it  establish  rates 
upon  any  articles  so  low  that  they  will  not  be  reason- 
able. It  cannot  fix  an  entire  schedule  of  rates 
which  will  give  an  inadequate  return  upon  the  fair  value 
of  the  property  used  in  the  service  given.  There  is,  how- 
ever, a  zone  within  which  it  may  properly  exercise  ' '  the 

"U.  S.  v.  Ore.  R.  R.  &  N.  Co.,  59  Fed.  975,  979. 
"Nat'l  Hay  Ass'n  v.  M.  C.  R.  R.  Co.,  19  I.  C.  C.  34,  38. 


24  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

flexible  limit  of  judgment  which  belongs  to  the  power  to 
fix  rates."  However,  the  Commission  will  not  approve 
the  imposition  by  carriers  of  conditions  which  would 
benefit  one  or  few  shippers  and  which  might  injure 
others.  In  other  words,  the  same  rules  apply  which  gov- 
ern the  rate,  because  the  classification  is  inseparably  a 
part  of  the  rate. 

In  this  connection  it  should,  however,  be  noted  that 
very  often  carriers  publish  so-called  ' '  commodity  rates. ' ' 
These  are  rates  applying  to  the  specific  commodity 
named.  The  naming  of  such  a  rate  takes  the  commodity 
referred  to  out  of  the  classification,  and  the  shipment  of 
that  commodity  is  governed  by  the  commodity  rate  tariff 
and  not  by  the  classification,  so  far  as  the  rates  are  con- 
cerned, although  the  rules  of  the  classification  often  gov- 
ern to  some  extent. 

In  the  formation  of  a  classification  the  rules,  regula- 
tions, and  charges  thereunder  must  be  made  with  reason- 
able regard  for  the  nature  of  the  commodity  transported 
and  without  undue  discrimination  as  to  localities  or  ship- 
pers.20 Also,  in  all  classifications  consideration  must  be 
given  to  what  may  be  termed  public  policy.  There  is  an 
advantage  to  the  community  in  having  some  kinds  of 
freight  carried  at  a  smaller  rate  than  other  kinds.  How- 
ever, the  fact  that  certain  traffic  is  hauled  in  train-load 
lots  while  other  traffic  moves  in  carloads  must  not  be 
made  the  basis  of  a  difference  in  rates.  Carriers,  how- 
ever, may  make  a  difference  between  carload  and  less- 
than-carload  shipments.  In  forming  a  classification  no 
one  consideration  is  controlling.  Bulk,  value,  liability  to 
waste  or  injury  in  transit,  weight,  form  in  which  ten- 
dered, etc.,  must  he  taken  into  consideration.  It  is  not 
an  exact  science,  nor  may  the  rating  accorded  a  particu- 
lar article  be  determined  alone  by  the  yardstick,  the 

"Sunderland  Bros.  Co.  v.  S.  L.  &  S.  F.  R.  R.  Co.,  23  I.  C.  C.  259,  262. 


SECTION  1  25 

scales,  or  the  dollar;  the  volume  and  desirability  of  the 
traffic,  the  hazard  of  carriage,  and  the  possibility  or  prob- 
ability of  the  misrepresentation  of  the  article  are  consid- 
erations of  prime  importance.  At  best  it  is  but  a  group- 
ing, and  when  the  approximate  result  from  it  is  not  found 
to  cause  the  exaction  of  an  unreasonable  or  a  discrimina- 
tory charge  it  will  not  be  disturbed.21 

Bills  of  lading. — It  is  the  duty  of  carriers  to  establish 
and  observe  reasonable  regulations,  and  to  issue  bills  of 
lading  or  receipts  for  property  received.  The  Commis- 
sion has  authority  to  consider  and  determine  the  reason- 
ableness of  regulations  and  practices  with  respect  to  the 
issuance  and  substance  of  bills  of  lading,  and  to  deter- 
mine and  prescribe  what  regulations  and  practices  are 
just  and  reasonable.  The  Commission  did  in  fact  hold  a 
hearing  on  what  would  be  reasonable  provisions  to  insert 
in  a  bill  of  lading.  It  drew  up  two  forms  of  what  is 
known  as  the  uniform  bill  of  lading,  which  it  submitted 
for  adoption  to  the  carriers,  but  it  did  not  order  them  to 
adopt  these  forms.  Such  bills  of  lading  are  de- 
signed for  use  with  respect  to  miscellaneous  freight 
and  general  merchandise,  but  are  not  intended  to  sup- 
plant bills  issued  on  particular  commodities  requiring 
exceptional  provisions,  such  as  live  stock  and  perishable 
property.  However,  having  approved  these  bills  of 
lading  does  not  preclude  the  Commission  from  passing 
independent  judgment  upon  any  of  their  provisions.22 

Same  subject:  Duty  of  carrier  to  issue. — It  is  the 
duty  of  carriers  to  issue  bills  of  lading  or  similar  receipts 
for  the  transportation  of  property  entrusted  to  them. 
Bills  of  lading  are  generally  for  local  movements,  through 
movements,  or  export  or  import  movements,  and  they 

"Forest  City  Freight  Bureau  v.  Ann  Arbor  R.  R.  Co.,  18  I.  C.  C. 
205,  206. 
"14  I.  C.  C.  351,  355. 


26  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

cover  passage  by  water  as  well  as  by  rail.  A  railroad 
formerly  was  not  compelled  to  issue  a  bill  of  lading  cov- 
ering shipment  over  a  connecting  carrier,  but  could  limit 
its  liability  and  issue  a  bill  of  lading  for  only  its  own  line. 
The  Carmack  Amendment  (discussed  on  page  167)  prac- 
tically compels  a  carrier  to  issue  a  through  bill  of  lading, 
because  it  makes  the  initial  carrier  responsible  for  any 
damage  occurring  to  the  shipment  on  the  line  of  a  con- 
necting carrier  and  provides  that  no  provision  of  the  bill 
of  lading  shall  exempt  it  from  such  liability.  There  is  no 
legal  obligation  on  a  rail  carrier  to  give  a  through  bill  of 
lading  covering  movement  by  water  beyond  its  line 
until  the  Commission,  under  the  amendment  of  1912,  has 
made  such  a  requirement.  Such  practices,  however,  are 
of  great  advantage  to  shippers,  and  if  given  in  the  name 
of  one  boat  line  should  be  given  in  the  name  of  other  lines 
which  are  similarly  circumstanced. 

A  railroad  may  entirely  destroy  the  export  traffic  of 
a  port  by  refusing  to  issue  through  bills  of  lading, 
and  to  say  that  it  may  exercise  this  great  power  wantonly 
and  arbitrarily  is  contrary  to  the  spirit  and  letter  of  the 
Act.  If  the  rail  carrier  makes  a  rate  and  issues  a  bill  of 
lading  for  shipside  delivery  at  a  port,  that  rate  and  a  sim- 
ilar bill  of  lading  should  be  open  to  all  who  conform  to  its 
reasonable  conditions.  A  railroad  cannot  adopt  a  policy 
or  practice  which  will  put  its  facilities  and  rates  at  the  ex- 
clusive service  of  one  line  of  steamships  or  of  one  set  of 
shippers  patronizing  that  line.23 

Questions  very  frequently  come  up  as  to  the  duty  to 
issue  bills  of  lading  at  transit  points,  or  one  bill  of  lading 
for  several  shipments.  Commodities  such  as  grain  are 
carried  from  the  farm  to  some  elevator  or  mill  located 
at  a  designated  transit  point  and  there  cleaned,  sorted  or 
milled,  and  sent  through  to  destination.    Tariffs  very  fre- 

"Mobile  Chamber  of  Commerce  v.  M.  &  0.  R.  R.  Co.,  23  I.  C.  C.  417. 


SECTION  1  27 

quently  provide  that  the  shipment  has  to  pay  the  local 
rate  up  to  such  point  and  when  shipped  out  from  there  a 
through  rate  is  assessed  from  the  originating  point  to 
destination.  The  shipper  pays  the  through  rate  less  the 
local  to  the  transit  point  and  not  the  sum  of  the  local 
rates  from  the  originating  point  to  the  transit  point  and 
from  there  to  destination,  which  would  be  considerably 
higher.  The  rule  is  therefore  laid  down  that  when  car- 
riers are  parties  to  a  milling-in-transit  privilege  it  is 
proper  for  the  inbound  carrier  to  issue  and  sign  the  bills 
of  lading  for  the  outbound  movement,  because  since  the 
records  of  the  inbound  shipment  are  in  its  possession,  in 
no  other  way  could  the  transit  privilege  be  protected 
against  abuse. 

Most  classifications  contain  a  provision  that  when  the 
minimum  carload  weight  or  more  of  one  article  is  shipped 
in  one  day  in  separate  shipments  by  one  consignor  to  one 
consignee  and  covered  by  one  bill  of  lading,  the  rate  for  a 
carload  shall  apply  on  the  entire  lot,  although  it  may  be 
less  than  two  or  more  carload  lots.  It  must  be  borne  in 
mind  that  to  take  advantage  of  this  rule  in  the  classifica- 
tion a  separate  bill  of  lading  must  not  be  taken  out  for 
each  shipment,  but  the  railroad  agent  must  be  requested 
to  make  out  one  bill  for  both  shipments. 

Same  subject:  Construction. — It  must  be  noted  that 
the  bill  of  lading  is  little  more  than  a  receipt  for  the 
goods  to  be  transported  and  nothing  obnoxious  to  the 
law  can  be  incorporated  into  it.  It  must  be  plain  and 
definite  in  all  its  provisions  and  must  clearly  state  the 
liability  imposed.  For  instance,  when  a  car  is  weighed 
at  origin  and  the  weight  is  stated  in  the  bill  of  lading, 
the  shipper  has  a  right  to  rely  on  that  weight  subject  to 
correction  only  by  proof  of  the  correct  weight.  The  state- 
ments in  the  bill  of  lading  are  only  prima  facie.    They 


28  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

are  not  controlling,  but,  as  in  the  case  of  any  other  re- 
ceipt, it  may  be  shown  that  the  actual  facts  are  different. 

Any  provision  in  a  bill  of  lading  is  outside  of  the  tariff, 
and  therefore  in  no  sense  a  limitation  upon  the  right  of 
the  shipper  to  have  his  commodity  transported  in  a  man- 
ner and  at  the  rates  specified  in  the  rate  schedule.  Very 
often  there  is  a  conflict  between  the  rate  and  the  route 
specified  in  the  bill  of  lading;  that  is,  through  some  error 
or  mistake  the  rate  specified  in  the  bill  of  lading  does  not 
apply  via  the  route  indicated.  In  case  there  is  an 
inconsistency  between  a  rate  and  a  route  when  both 
are  named  in  the  bill  of  lading  furnished  by  the  shipper, 
the  carrier  should  request  of  the  shipper  which  one  is  to 
be  followed.  If  the  initial  carrier  fails  to  inquire  of  the 
shipper  and  routes  the  freight  over  a  route  which  car- 
ries a  higher  rate  than  shown  in  the  bill  of  lading,  it  is 
responsible  for  misrouting.24 

Tickets. — A  carrier  must  similarly  enforce  reasonable 
regulations  governing  tickets  and  the  privileges  available 
thereunder.  This  applies  to  such  things  as  stop-over  priv- 
ileges, round-trip  tickets,  and  commutation  fares,  excur- 
sion fares,  mileage  tickets,  and  the  like.  While,  as  will 
be  seen,  the  shipper  of  freight  is  presumed  to  know  the 
various  tariff  regulations,  it  does  not  appear  that  the  pas- 
senger is  held  to  as  strict  an  accountability  of  the  rules 
governing  tickets.  Thus,  where  tickets  must  be  presented 
for  signature  to  the  carrier's  agent  at  various  places  to 
secure  privileges  or  for  validation  and  the  like,  and 
through  an  error  of  the  carrier's  agent  the  rules  are  not 
complied  with  and  the  passenger  is  thereby  compelled  to 
pay  an  additional  charge,  damages  will  be  awarded  for 
such  error. 

Baggage. — The  carriers  have  the  right  to  make  reason- 
able regulations  concerning  the  carrying  of  baggage. 

"Block  Pollack  Iron  Co.  v.  H.  E.  &  W.  T.  R.  R.  Co.,  19  I.  C.  C.  505. 


SECTION  1  29 

Thus,  it  is  not  undue  discrimination  to  carry  free  150 
pounds  of  baggage  for  a  passenger  as  against  the  many- 
passengers  who  travel  without  baggage.  The  carriers 
may  also,  within  reasonable  bounds,  limit  the  size  of 
sample  trunks  and  the  like  in  order  to  exclude  bulky  or 
cumbersome  shapes  that  occupy  an  undue  proportion  of 
space  compared  with  their  weight.  The  carriers  have 
also  a  right  to  limit  the  amount  of  free  baggage  to  150 
pounds,  and  to  charge  extra  for  baggage  over  that 
weight. 

Facilities. — It  is  also  made  the  duty  of  the  carrier  to 
establish  and  enforce  just  and  reasonable  regulations  con- 
cerning the  furnishing  and  using  of  facilities.  Facilities, 
of  course,  are  almost  as  numerous  as  the  instrumental- 
ities of  transportation.  In  general,  however,  facilities 
belong  to  one  of  three  classes:  those  furnished  at  the 
beginning  of  transportation,  during  transportation,  or  at 
delivery.  The  most  important  facility,  of  course,  that 
the  carrier  furnishes  is  the  car  which  moves  the  com- 
modity. It  was  perhaps  discrimination  in  the  furnishing 
of  cars  as  much  as  anything  that  led  to  the  passage  of 
the  Interstate  Commerce  Act.  It  is  very  obvious  that 
by  neglecting  to  furnish  cars  or  by  delay  in  transporting 
them  a  shipper  can  be  irretrievably  injured,  and  as  a 
matter  of  fact  such  has  very  frequently  been  the  case. 
The  question  of  car  facilities  has  come  up  more  often  in 
the  case  of  coal-mining  companies  than  in  any  other 
particular  industry.  Various  methods  have  been  adopted 
by  which  it  has  been  attempted  to  give  one  mine  more 
cars  than  another.  After  a  great  deal  of  litigation  it  has 
been  well  established  that  most  of  the  methods  of  dis- 
tributing coal  cars  in  effect  by  the  various  railroads  were 
wrong  in  that  certain  favored  mines  secured  relatively 
more  cars  than  their  competitors.  The  Interstate  Com- 
merce Commission,  however,  has   quite   effectively   de- 


30  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

stroyed  all  such  discrimination,  so  that  today,  on  the 
whole,  coal  cars  are  equitably  distributed. 

During  transportation  the  principal  facilities  that  are 
used  are  transit,  elevation,  and  compression.  Transit  is 
the  privilege  of  holding  some  product  en  route  to  permit 
it  to  be  manufactured  into  a  finished  article  and  have 
such  finished  article  reshipped  at  the  balance  of  the 
through  rate.  An  example  of  this  would  be  in  the  case  of 
transit  on  logs.  They  are  frequently  brought  into  the 
mill,  manufactured  into  lumber,  and  reshipped.  Com- 
pression is  the  privilege  extended  to  the  shipper  of  cotton, 
by  means  of  which  the  raw  cotton  is  taken  into  the  transit 
point,  compressed,  baled,  or  ginned,  and  reshipped  at  the 
balance  of  the  through  rate.  Elevation  applies  to  grain 
and  is  the  privilege  of  bringing  the  newly  harvested  grain 
into  the  transit  point  where  it  is  cleaned,  clipped,  and 
sorted.  Concentration  is  another  privilege  very  fre- 
quently given,  which  permits  the  jobber  in  eggs,  for  in- 
stance, to  draw  his  eggs  in  from  the  surrounding  country 
and  reship  them  out.  Other  privileges  and  facilities  ex- 
tended during  transportation  are  reconsigned,  refrigera- 
tion, substitution  of  tonnage,  and  the  like.  The  principal 
facilities  at  destination  are  switching,  wharfage,  and 
weighing.  In  extending  these  the  carrier  can  make  rea- 
sonable regulations.  It  cannot,  however,  create  any  that 
will  discriminate  against  persons  equally  situated;  but 
the  facilities  extended  must  be  open  impartially. 

Sometimes  these  facilities  are  extended  and  performed 
by  the  railroads  themselves;  sometimes  they  are  per- 
formed by  independent  agencies  or  by  the  shipper.  In 
the  latter  case,  an  allowance  is  made  for  such  service  by 
the  railroad.  In  other  words,  it  pays  so  much  for  the 
service.  Making  these  allowances  has  furnished  a  very 
fruitful  field  for  rebating,  but  the  Commission  is  slowly, 
yet  surely,  stamping  it  out. 


SECTION  1  31 

Free  transportation. — Section  1  is  intended  to  limit  the 
extent  to  which  free  transportation  can  be  given  by  the 
railroads.  Before  the  passage  of  this  Act  the  railroads 
lost  millions  of  dollars  a  year  through  the  promiscuous 
giving  of  passes.  It  might  be  said  that  almost  anyone 
of  any  consequence  in  the  country  could  have  a  pass. 
After  the  strict  enforcement  of  the  law  prohibiting  free 
transportation,  all  these  passes  were  called  in,  with  the 
result  that  the  railroads  gained  millions  of  dollars  in 
revenue.  Generally  speaking,  it  prohibits  an  interstate 
carrier  from  giving  free  transportation  to  any  person  ex- 
cept its  officers  and  employes,  ministers,  traveling  secre- 
taries of  railroad  Y.  M.  C.  A.  's,  inmates  of  charitable  in- 
stitutions, persons  exclusively  engaged  in  charity  work, 
destitute  and  homeless  persons,  inmates  of  soldiers'  and 
sailors'  homes,  caretakers  of  perishable  property,  em- 
ployes of  sleeping  and  express  cars,  linemen  of  telegraph 
or  telephone  companies,  railway  mail  employes,  post- 
office,  customs,  and  immigration  inspectors,  persons  in- 
jured in  wrecks,  cases  of  general  epidemic,  etc.  Any 
carrier  violating  this  provision  of  the  Act  can  be  fined 
not  less  than  $100  and  not  more  than  $200 ;  and  the  person 
using  the  transportation  in  violation  of  the  Act  is  sim- 
ilarly guilty.  This  paragraph,  however,  should  be  read 
in  connection  with  Section  22,  which  also  contains  provi- 
sions concerning  free  transportation.  It  should  be  ob- 
served that  the  law  is  not  by  any  means  a  dead  letter, 
and  that  prosecutions  have  been  brought  against  persons 
riding  on  passes  to  which  they  were  not  entitled.25 

Where  a  railroad  employe  is  entitled  to  receive  a  pass, 
gets  one,  and  delivers  it  to  a  friend  who  rides  on  it,  he  is 
guilty  as  well  as  the  friend,  because  the  statute  intends 
that  all  persons  making  use  of  any  interstate  free  pass 
are  liable,  unless  excepted  by  the  terms  of  the  Act,  and 

*U.  S.  v.  Martin,  176  Fed.  110;  U.  S.  v.  Williams,  159  Fed.  310. 


32  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

if  the  person  who  uses  the  pass  is  not  so  excepted,  the 
person  who  gives  him  the  pass,  even  if  he  himself  could 
use  it,  is  liable.26 

It  might  be  noted  here  that  all  the  provisions  of  this 
Act  so  far  as  they  relate  to  criminal  offenses  should  be 
read  in  connection  with  the  Elkins  Act.27 

An  important  thing  to  be  remembered  in  connection 
with  Section  1  is  the  fact  that  the  Act  invalidates  all  con- 
tracts for  free  transportation  made  prior  to  its  date. 

Very  often  in  consideration  of  a  right  of  way  or  of  a 
release  for  personal  injuries,  a  railroad  would  agree  to 
give  free  transportation  for  life  to  some  particular  per- 
son.   Such  contracts  were  invalidated  by  the  Act.28 

Commodities  clause. — Paragraph  5  of  Section  1  is 
what  is  known  as  the  commodities  clause.  This  prohibits 
any  railroad  to  transport  in  interstate  or  foreign  com- 
merce any  article  or  commodity  other  than  timber  and 
the  manufactured  products  thereof,  manufactured,  mined, 
or  produced  by  it  or  under  its  authority,  or  which  it  may 
own  in  whole  or  in  part,  or  in  which  it  may  have  any 
interest,  direct  or  indirect,  except  such  articles  or  com- 
modities as  may  be  necessary  and  intended  for  its  use 
in  the  conduct  of  its  business  as  a  common  carrier.  This 
paragraph  has  been  held  constitutional.  It  is  not  void 
because  of  the  exception  contained  therein  as  to  timber. 
It  does  not  deprive  railroads  of  property  without  due 
process  of  law,  does  not  discriminate  between  carriers,  is 
not  void  because  of  the  nature  and  character  of  the  penal- 
ties it  imposes,  but  is  inherently  within  the  power  of 
Congress  to  enact  as  a  regulation  of  commerce.29 

This  clause  was  passed  principally  to  attack  the  great 
coal-carrying  and  coal-owning  roads  of  Pennsylvania, 

*U.  S.  v.  Williams,  159  Fed.  310. 

rThis  Act  is  reproduced  at  the  end  of  this  treatise. 

28L.  &  N.  R.  R.  Co.  v.  Mottley,  219  U.  S.  467. 

"U.  S.  v.  D.  &  H.  Co.,  213  U.  S.  366. 


SECTION  1  33 

such  as  the  Beading,  Lehigh  Valley,  Pennsylvania,  and 
Lackawanna  &  Western.  It  has  been  estimated,  for  in- 
stance, that  the  Eeading  owns  57  per  cent  of  all  the  an- 
thracite coal  mines  of  the  country.  A  great  deal  of  dis- 
crimination had  been  practiced  by  these  railroads  against 
individual  operators,  and  in  favor  of  their  own  mines. 
It  was  thought  that  this  law  would  compel  the  railroads 
to  sell  their  mines.  The  practical  effect,  however,  has 
been  to  make  the  coal-carrying  roads  organize  coal  com- 
panies and  transfer  the  coal  mines  to  the  coal  companies. 
The  stock  of  the  coal  companies  was  then  distributed  as 
a  dividend  among  the  stockholders  in  the  railroad  com- 
pany. However,  as  the  stockholders  in  the  railroad  are 
also  the  stockholders  in  the  coal  company,  it  is  very  ob- 
vious that  the  commodities  clause  cannot  have  accom- 
plished very  much,  especially  since  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States  held  that  the  prohibition  in  the  com- 
modities clause  does  not  apply  to  commodities  owned  by 
separate  corporations  in  which  the  carrier  owns  stock.30 
Switching  connections. — This  section  also  provides 
that  any  common  carrier,  upon  application  of  any  lateral 
branch  line  of  railroad,  or  of  any  shipper  tendering  inter- 
state traffic  for  transportation,  shall  construct,  maintain, 
and  operate  upon  reasonable  terms  a  switch  connection 
with  its  railroad  where  such  connection  is  reasonably 
practical  and  can  be  put  in  with  safety  and  furnish  suffi- 
cient business  to  justify  its  construction  and  mainte- 
nance; and  the  carrier  shall  furnish  cars  for  the  move- 
ment of  such  traffic  and  without  discrimination  in  favor 
of  or  against  any  such  shipper.  If  the  railroad  refuses 
to  install  such  connection,  the  applicant  can  then  notify 
the  Commission  as  provided  in  Section  13  and  the  Com- 
mission is  then  empowered  to  investigate  the  situation 
and  order  the  switch  to  be  put  in  at  reasonable  cost. 

,0U.  S.  v.  D.  &  H.  Co.,  213  U.  S.  366. 


34  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

It  should  be  noted  that  this  paragraph  does  not  give 
the  Commission  authority  to  order  a  side  track  to  be  built. 
It  only  refers  to  the  switching  connection.  Thus,  where 
a  shipper  had  made  an  agreement  that  it  would  grade 
and  prepare  a  roadbed  upon  which  a  railroad  company 
agreed  to  construct  a  side  track  connected  with  its  main 
line  and  operate  the  same,  and  then  refused  to  carry  out 
the  agreement,  it  was  held  upon  application  to  the  Com- 
mission that  it  had  no  jurisdiction  to  enforce  the  specific 
provisions  of  an  agreement  of  this  nature,  and  that  it  was 
a  condition  precedent  to  the  exercise  of  its  power  that 
such  a  private  track  should  be  actually  constructed  in 
such  a  manner  that  a  physical  connection  is  practicable 
and  safe. 

It  must  also  be  noted  that  while  formerly  the  applica- 
tion to  the  Commission  for  a  switch  connection  between 
the  main  line  and  a  branch  line  could  only  be  made  by  a 
shipper,  and  not  by  a  carrier,  the  law  was  amended  in 
1910  to  give  the  carrier  this  right.  So  such  cases  as  the 
reader  may  come  across,  denying  the  right  to  the  car- 
rier, are  now  obsolete.31 

A  road  is  a  lateral  branch  road  within  the  meaning  of 
this  section,  when  it  is  tributary  to  and  dependent  upon 
another  for  an  outlet,  and  where  it  is  essentially  a  feeder 
contributing  traffic  and  capable  of  exchanging  such  traffic 
with  other  roads.  It  is  not  such  where  it  is  in  effect  an 
independent  and  competing  line.  Nor  is  this  any  less  the 
case  because  it  may  not  compete  as  to  a  portion  of  the 
territory  involved.  The  question  is  to  be  determined 
according  to  the  relation  which  the  branch  line  bears  to 
the  railroad  with  which  a  switch  connection  is  asked. 
This  relation  is  one  of  road  to  road  and  not  of  shippers 
or  territories.  A  road  does  not  have  the  relation  of 
branch  or  lateral  road  as  to  some  shippers  in  its  territory 

"I.  C.  v.  D.  L.  &  W.  R.  R.  Co.,  216  U.  S.  531. 


SECTION  1  35 

and  not  have  it  as  to  others.  In  determining  whether  a 
switch  connection  to  a  small  line  reaching  several  indus- 
tries and  a  trunk  line  should  be  ordered,  a  fair  test  is 
whether  such  a  complaint  would  be  granted  were  it  an 
application  for  a  side  track  to  an  industry. 

It  has  been  held  that  fifty  carloads  of  traffic  a  year  will 
justify  the  connection.32  Where  a  connection  can  be 
safely  and  easily  made,  however,  there  is  no  doubt  that 
less  traffic  than  this  would  justify  it.  It  should  be  re- 
called that  an  electric  line  is  entitled  to  a  switch  connec- 
tion with  a  steam  "road,  as  this  question  very  often 
arises.33 

As  a  switch  connection  generally  involves  the  opera- 
tion of  a  side  track,  it  is  important  to  note  how  far  the 
railroad  can  go  in  making  regulations,  which  it  undoubt- 
edly will  do  before  it  will  agree  to  operate  the  track. 
Generally,  the  railroad  will  refuse  to  operate  a  side  track 
unless  its  standard  form  of  industrial  side  track  agree- 
ment is  signed,  one  clause  of  which  requires  the  industry 
to  indemnify  it  from  liability  on  claims  for  loss  and  dam- 
age by  sparks  of  burning  coal  from  its  locomotive  on  the 
spur  track.  Inasmuch  as  it  is  no  part  of  the  duty  of  the 
railroad  either  at  common  law  or  under  the  Act  to  spot 
cars  at  warehouses  or  factory  or  to  do  more  than  set  them 
on  the  spur  track,  not  on  its  own  right  of  way,  if  it  under- 
takes to  do  so  there  is  no  reason  why  it  may  not  predicate 
its  undertaking  upon  the  condition  it  shall  not  be  liable  to 
the  industry  for  fire  losses.  The  operation  of  a  private 
side  track  by  a  carrier  is  a  different  matter  from  the  oper- 
ation by  it  of  a  connection  between  its  line  and  a  side 
track.  If  the  requisite  statutory  conditions  are  complied 
with,  the  shipper  may  insist  that  the  connection  be  made, 
whether  desired  or  not  by  the  carrier,  but  in  undertaking 

"Rahway  Valley  R.  R.  Co.  v.  D.  L.  &  W.  R.  R.  Co.,  14  I.  C.  C.  191. 
"Cin.  Col.  Tract.  Co.  v.  B.  &  0.  S.  W.  R.  R.  Co.,  20  I.  C.  C.  486. 


36  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

a  service  on  a  spur  track  off  its  own  rig-lit  of  way,  the  car- 
rier may  attach  reasonable  conditions  to  the  undertaking. 

In  connection  with  this  subject,  it  should  be  borne  in 
mind  that  Section  6,  as  amended  by  the  Panama  Canal 
Act,  provides  that  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission 
may  order  physical  connections  between  rail  lines  and 
the  docks  of  water  carriers  where  the  Commission  finds 
that  such  connections  are  practical. 

The  connecting-up  of  rail  lines  with  tracks  already  ex- 
isting on  boat-line  docks  will  often  mean  a  very  material 
saving  in  time  and  expense  of  handling  freight. 


SECTION  2 

Crimes. — This  section  provides  that  if  any  carrier  sub- 
ject to  the  Act  shall,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  by  any 
special  rate,  rebate,  drawback,  or  other  device,  charge, 
demand,  collect,  or  receive  a  greater  or  less  compensation 
for  any  service  rendered,  or  to  be  rendered,  in  the  trans- 
portation of  passengers  or  property  subject  to  the  Act 
than  it  charges,  demands,  collects,  or  receives  from  any 
other  person  or  persons  for  a  like  and  contemporaneous 
service  in  the  transportation  of  a  like  kind  of  traffic, 
under  substantially  similar  circumstances  and  conditions, 
it  shall  be  guilty  of  unjust  discrimination,  which  is  pro- 
hibited and  declared  to  be  unlawful. 

This  section  of  the  Act,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  rebates, 
should  be  read  in  connection  with  the  Elkins  Act,  which 
will  be  found  explained  on  page  185.  Practically  all  the 
prosecutions  brought  for  rebating  are  brought  under  the 
Elkins  Act. 

So  far  as  this  section  relates  to  discrimination,  it  should 
be  read  in  connection  with  Section  3,  immediately  fol- 
lowing. 

What  constitutes  a  rebate  will  be  found  fully  denned 
in  the  discussion  under  the  Elkins  Act.  Generally  speak- 
ing, however,  anything  that  is  equivalent  to  cash  and  by 
means  of  which  a  transportation  service  is  performed  for 
less  than  the  public  tariffs,  constitutes  a  rebate,  which  is 
unlawful.  The  shipper  is  presumed  to  know  what  the 
legal  rate  is.  The  carrier  is  presumed  to  exact  that  rate. 
If  either  the  shipper  fails  to  pay  or  the  carrier  fails  to 
collect  the  published  rate,  an  offense  is  committed. 

37 


38  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that' a  rebate  is  not  necessarily 
a  sum  paid  by  the  carrier  to  a  shipper.  It  may  consist  of 
favors  which  have  the  same  effect.  A  contract  between 
a  magazine  publisher  and  a  railroad  by  which  the  latter 
is  to  furnish  transportation  to  be  paid  for  by  advertising 
space  supplied  by  the  former  is  in  violation  of  the  Elkins 
Act  as  amended  by  the  Hepburn  Law  of  June  29, 1906,  in 
that  a  different  compensation  is  provided  for  than  that 
specified  in  the  lawfully  published  tariffs.1 

Anything  by  which  the  shipper  gets  a  reduction  from 
the  published  rate  is  a  rebate.  Hence,  paying  fictitious 
loss,  damage,  or  overcharge  claims  to  the  shipper  is  a 
rebate;  so  would  be  the  giving  of  free  transportation  to 
which  the  shipper  was  not  entitled. 

This  section,  so  far  as  the  prohibiting  of  discrimination 
is  concerned,  is  generally  construed  to  mean  discrimina- 
tion between  commodities,  while  Section  3  prohibits  dis- 
crimination between  localities.  Thus,  if  it  is  alleged  that 
snapped  corn  takes  a  discriminatory  rate  as  compared 
with  the  rate  on  ordinary  corn,  a  violation  of  Section  2  is 
involved.  If,  however,  an  unduly  discriminatory  rate  is 
alleged  in  favor  of  Smithville  as  against  the  rate  given 
Jones  City,  Section  3  is  violated.  Section  2  requires  sim- 
ilar -treatment  for  "like  kinds  of  traffic,"  while  Section  3 
covers  not  only  traffic  but  localities  and  persons. 


lU.  S.  v.  C.  I.  &  L.  Ky.  Co.,  163  Fed.  114,  115. 


SECTION  3 
1.    Discrimination 

In  general. — Section  3  provides  that  it  is  unlawful  for 
any  common  carrier  to  make  or  give  any  undue  or  unrea- 
sonable preference  to  any  particular  person,  company, 
firm,  corporation,  or  locality  or  any  particular  description 
of  traffic,  in  any  respect  whatsoever,  or  to  subject  any 
particular  person,  company,  firm,  corporation,  or  locality, 
or  any  particular  description  of  traffic,  to  any  undue  or 
unreasonable  prejudice  or  disadvantage  in  any  respect. 

The  following  is  a  typical  case  of  discrimination  under 
Section  3.  The  Traffic  Association  of  Santa  Eosa,  Cali- 
fornia, attacked  the  basis  of  rates  by  which  that  city  was 
given  the  rates  to  the  nearest  terminal  plus  the  locals 
therefrom  to  Santa  Eosa  as  unduly  prejudicial  to  that 
city  and  preferential  to  San  Jose,  Santa  Clara,  Marysville, 
and  other  California  points,  which  were  being  granted 
terminal  rates,  although  not  strictly  terminal  rate  points. 
San  Jose  and  Santa  Clara  were  given  terminal  rates  by 
the  railroads  on  account  of  the  fact  that  the  ocean  car- 
riers absorbed  the  wagon  haul  from  the  terminals  to  these 
points.  The  same  was  true  of  Marysville,  which  was 
located  on  a  branch  of  the  Sacramento  Eiver  well  beyond 
the  head  of  navigation.  Santa  Eosa  is  52  miles  north  of 
San  Francisco,  while  San  Jose  is  48  miles  south.  There 
was  an  available  route  from  San  Francisco  to  Santa  Eosa 
by  boat  to  Petaluma,  a  distance  of  46  miles ;  thence  via  an 
electric  line,  16  miles,  to  Santa  Eosa.  This  route  was  in 
effect  for  through  traffic  in  connection  with  the  Western 
Pacific  Eailroad  at  San  Francisco.    San  Jose  and  Santa 

39 


40  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

Clara  are  from  8  to  10  miles  bevond  tidewater  and  there- 

■ 

fore  on  a  water  haul  from  San  Francisco,  land  cartage 
was  necessary.  The  same  situation  applied  to  Marysville, 
at  which  point  the  water  competition  was  not  actually  or 
apparently  potential.  On  the  Northwestern  Pacific  Bail- 
road  Santa  Rosa  was  on  the  main  line,  but  on  the  South- 
ern Pacific  Eailwav  it  was  located  on  a  branch  line. 
Santa  Clara  and  San  Jose  were  on  the  main  line  of  the 
Southern  Pacific  Eailway. 

Under  the  rates  attacked,  merchants  at  Santa  Eosa 
were  compelled  either  to  lose  from  their  profits 
on  goods  an  amount  equal  to  the  difference  in 
rates  between  Santa  Eosa  and  the  other  points  in  ques- 
tion, or  to  charge  this  difference  up  to  the  consumer  by 
adding  to  the  sale  price.  It  was  held  that  Santa  Eosa 
bore  such  a  competitive  relation  to  the  other  cities  men- 
tioned as  to  be  unduly  discriminated  against  by  the  rates 
attacked,  and  while  the  Commission  did  not  approve  of 
the  extension  of  these  terminal  rates  to  San  Jose,  Santa 
Clara,  and  Marysville,  so  long  as  the  extension  was  made, 
defendants  must  accord  terminal  rates  to  Santa  Eosa.1 

It  also  provides  that  common  carriers  shall  afford  rea- 
sonable, proper,  and  equal  facilities  for  the  interchanging 
of  traffic  between  their  respective  lines  and  for  the  re- 
ceiving, forwarding,  and  delivering  of  passengers  and 
property  to  and  from  their  several  lines  and  those  con- 
necting therewith;  and  that  they  shall  not  discriminate 
in  their  rates  and  charges  between  such  connecting  lines. 
But  the  carrier  is  not  required  to  give  the  use  of  its 
tracks  or  terminal  facilities  to  any  carrier  engaged  in 
like  business. 

Perhaps  more  litigation  has  arisen  under  this  section 
than  under  any  other  of  the  Act.  When  it  is  considered 
that  innumerable  instrumentalities  and  facilities  are  used 

'Santa  Rosa  Traf.  Ass'n  v.  S.  P.  Co.,  24  I.  C.  C.  46. 


SECTION  3  41 

in  transportation  and  that  it  is  possible  to  favor  one 
shipper  at  the  expense  of  another,  the  questions  that 
have  come  up  are  almost  infinite.  Absorption  of  charges, 
advances  in  rates,  allowances,  blanket  rates,  car  supply, 
classification,  demurrage,  differentials,  export  rates,  ex- 
press rates,  facilities  of  various  kinds,  import  traffic, 
lighterage,  passenger  fares,  precooling,2  proportional 
rates,  reconsignment,  switching,  tap  lines,  terminal  facil- 
ities, through  routes,  track  storage,  and  weighing  are  but 
few  of  the  many  different  situations  in  which  discrimina- 
tion has  been  practiced. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  it  is  not  everv  discrimina- 

w 

tion  that  is  forbidden.  It  is  only  such  as  are  undue  or 
unjust.  Thus,  the  mere  fact  that  one  point  takes  a  lower 
rate  than  another  point  does  not  show  that  the  higher 
rate  is  discriminatory.  Before  it  can  be  said  that  a  dis- 
crimination is  undue,  there  must  always  exist  a  similarity 
of  circumstances.  Thus,  supposing  one  city  is  served  by 
five  or  six  trunk-line  carriers.  Another  city  fifty  miles 
awav  is  onlv  served  bv  one  railroad.  Manifestlv,  the 
rates  to  the  former  would  be  lower  than  to  the  latter 
because  competition  would  force  such  rates  down  to  the 
lowest  possible  level.  The  following  is  an  example  of 
similarity  of  circumstances.  In  the  application  of  rates 
on  coal  from  the  TYalsenburg  district  in  Colorado  to  nu- 
merous points  in  Nebraska,  defendants  provide  a  rate 
of  $3.50  per  net  ton  to  one  group  of  stations  and  a  rate 
of  $3.75  to  a  second  group.  Complainant  in  substance 
asked  that  certain  points  now  taking  the  $3.75  rate  be 
included  within  the  $3.50  rate  group  and  that  certain 
ones  taking  the  $3.50  rate  be  divided  into  two  new  groups 
to  which  shall  apply  rates  of  $3  and  $3.25.    A  point 

'A  term  signifying  that  fruit  is  cooled  in  warehouses  or  cars  be- 
fore transportation  is  begun.  To  a  considerable  extent  this  operation 
does  away  with  refrigeration  of  cars. 


42  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

known  as  Minden  on  the  main  line  of  the  Burlington 
took  the  $3.50  rate,  while  a  station  known  as  Minden 
"K,"  on  a  subsidiary  line  of  the  Burlington  system, 
which  also  passes  through  Minden,  took  the  $3.75  rate, 
although  it  is  only  a  few  blocks  from  Minden;  but  there 
is  no  physical  connection  between  these  two  lines.  It  was 
held  that  the  lack  of  switch  connection  between  the  lines 
of  the  Burlington  system  at  Minden  and  Minden  '"K" 
should  not  be  allowed  to  prejudice  the  latter  station,  and 
that  Minden  "K"  should  take  the  same  rate  as  Minden, 
and  under  the  readjustment  required  by  this  finding  the 
rate  to  Minden  "K"  should  not  be  exceeded  at  the  inter- 
mediate stations  of  Keene,  Wilcox,  Eagan,  Huntley, 
Alma,  Orleans,  Carter,  and  Sacramento,  Nebraska.3 
Typical  problems  of  unjust  discrimination  have  been  con- 
sidered in  the  Cedar  Hill  coal  case,4  the  Colorado  Coal 
Traffic  Association  case,5  and  the  Nebraska  State  Com- 
mission case.6 

If  the  same  carrier  serving  both  Kansas  and  Detroit 
salt  fields  names  a  lower  rate  to  St.  Louis,  for  substan- 
tially the  same  distance  from  Detroit,  than  from  Kansas, 
it  must  be  prepared  to  justify  that  discrimination;  but  if 
carrier  A  serves  St.  Louis  from  the  Kansas  field,  while 
carrier  B  serves  that  market  from  the  Detroit  field,  then 
carrier  A  is  not  guilty  of  discrimination  because  it  de- 
clines to  meet  the  rate  established  by  carrier  B.7 

The  making  of  lower  rates  for  carload  lots  as  against 
less-than-carload  lots  is  an  example  of  discrimination 
that  is  generally  conceded  not  to  be  unjust,  although  the 
making  of  such  lower  rates  discriminates  against  the 
small  shipment. 

8Nebr.  St.  Ry.  Com.  v.  C.  B.  &  Q.  R.  R.  Co.,  23  I.  C.  C.  121. 

'16  I.  C.  C.  387. 

619  I.  C.  C.  478. 

'13  ICC   349 

TR.  R.  Coni'rs  of  Kan.  v.  A.  T.  &  S.  F.  Ry.  Co.,  22  I.  C.  C.  407-413. 


SECTION  3  43 

As  it  is  impossible  to  cover  the  subject  of  discrimina- 
tion pertaining  to  each  kind  of  rate  or  instrumentality, 
nothing  more  is  attempted  here  than  briefly  to  lay  down 
the  elementary  principles  which  generally  govern  these 
questions. 

Control  and  regulation  of  discrimination. — The  Act 
was  intended  to  be  an  effective  means  for  redressing 
wrongs  resulting  from  unjust  discrimination  and  undue 
preference.  Where  persons  and  places  suffer,  the  funda- 
mental principle  of  the  Act  is  one  of  fair  play.  A  railroad 
may  not  control  the  character  of  the  industries  along  its 
line  by  giving  preferential  rates  as  between  commodities, 
nor  discriminate  as  between  one  shipper  and  another  even 
though  by  following  the  last  procedure  it  can  develop 
the  greatest  amount  of  traffic  for  itself.  However,  the 
Act  does  not  prohibit  all  discrimination,  but  only  that 
which  is  undue.8 

Jurisdiction  of  Commission. — The  primary  jurisdiction 
over  unjust  discrimination  by  carriers  is  with  the  Inter- 
state Commerce  Commission,  the  power  of  the  courts 
being  that  of  review.  The  latter  are  confined  in  that  re- 
view to  questions  of  constitutional  power,  and  whether 
the  action  of  the  Commission  is  within  the  scope  of  its- 
jurisdiction.  Thus,  the  Commission  cannot  indulge  in 
speculation  as  to  the  motives  which  actuated  carriers  in 
fixing  an  adjustment  of  freight  rates  as  between  various 
points  of  origin,  but  can  only  determine  upon  the  facts 
and  conditions  whether  or  not  the  rates  in  question  are 
unreasonable  or  unjustly  discriminatory.  The  courts 
look  upon  the  Commission  as  qualified  by  experience  and 
from  the  nature  of  its  duties  to  speak  as  experts  with  re- 
spect to  the  rates  and  practices  of  carriers,  and  ascribe  to 
its  findings  the  weight  and  conclusiveness  that  are  ordi- 
narily attached  to  expert  opinions. 

■Herbeck-Demer  Co.  v.  B.  &  O.  R.  R.  Co.,  17  I.  C.  C.  88. 


44  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

Shippers  may  resort  to  the  Commission  for  the  redress- 
ing of  injuries  arising  out  of  the  exaction  by  common 
carriers  of  unlawful  rates.  The  Commission  has  jurisdic- 
tion over  any  regulation  or  practice  that  withdraws  from 
a  shipper  the  equal  opportunity  of  using  and  taking  ad- 
vantage of  the  rates  offered  by  a  carrier  to  the  public, 
or  any  adjustment  of  rates  that  discriminates  between 
persons  or  localities  similarly  situated.  In  all  inquiries 
as  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Commission,  reference  should 
be  had  especially  to  Section  15,  which  particularly  defines 
the  Commission's  power. 

Determination  of  discrimination. — A  railroad  must 
serve  all  shippers,  traffic,  and  localities  with  substantial 
equality.  It  must  extend  the  same  facilities  and 
service  to  every  locality.  Only  a  difference  in  trans- 
portation conditions  can  justify  granting  one  local- 
ity an  advantage  over  another.  The  fact  that  a  given 
town  can  do  a  comparatively  small  amount  of  business  is 
no  justification  for  excluding  it  from  the  opportunity  to 
get  what  it  can.  Cases  of  alleged  undue  preference  or 
prejudice,  however,  must  be  adjudged  upon  their  respec- 
tive merits  and  cannot  be  controlled  by  the  results  of 
other  controversies  supposed  to  be  of  like  nature.  How- 
ever, a  railroad  is  justified  under  the  law  in  discriminat- 
ing in  favor  of  one  city  as  against  another  if  the  cities  are 
so  differently  circumstanced  that  at  one  point  transporta- 
tion forces  are  brought  into  play  which  are  not  or  cannot 
be  exercised  at  another  point ;  but  a  carrier  is  not  justified 
in  deliberately  adopting  a  policy  of  preference  towards 
one  city  as  against  another.  In  order  to  be  undue,  the 
preference  must  be  towards  one  city  as  against  another, 
and  must  give  an  advantage  created  by  the  mere  policy  of 
a  carrier  and  not  by  reasons  of  actual  difference  in  condi- 
tions. Good  faith,  moreover,  will  not  save  a  transaction 
from    condemnation   if   it   involves    unjust   preference. 


SECTION  3  45 

Where  one  railroad  is  owned  by  another,  although  oper- 
ated entirely  separately,  the  Commission  is  supposed  to 
regard  the  two  railroads  as  one  in  determining  whether 
the  rates  established  by  them  unduly  discriminate  be- 
tween different  sections.  Evidence  of  a  harmful  result 
in  a  given  case  need  not  be  sought  by  the  Commission. 
It  would  be  a  vain  attempt  in  many  cases  to  undertake 
to  ascertain  with  reasonable  certainty  just  what  has  re- 
sulted and  who  has  been  injured  by  transactions  of  the 
kind.  The  lawmakers,  assuming  that  such  practice 
would  naturally  result  in  many  instances  in  favoritism 
and  irreparable  wrong,  have  enacted  the  law  which  ad- 
judges the  practice  itself  to  be  wrong  and  forbids  it. 

Whether  or  not  discrimination  is  undue  is  a  fact  to  be 
found,  not  a  matter  of  law.  Carriers  are  common  serv- 
ants of  all  shippers  and  are  bound  to  serve  them  reason- 
ably and  without  undue  preference.  It  is  the  duty  of  a 
common  carrier  to  receive  and  carry  upon  reasonable 
terms  goods  tendered  in  a  suitable  condition  and  it  can- 
not lawfully  discriminate  in  favor  of  any  person,  product, 
or  locality.  It  is  difficult  to  determine  that  one  theory  is 
reasonable  and  right  for  one  manufacturer  and  shipper 
and  another  theory  is  reasonable  and  right  for  another 
manufacturer  and  shipper  under  substantially  similar 
circumstances  and  conditions.  Under  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Act,  however,  differential  and  discriminative  rates 
are  lawful  so  long  as  they  are  not  unduly  discrimina- 
tory and  do  not  operate  unfairly,  and  the  essence  of  the 
Act  is  that  whatever  the  rate  is  it  shall  be  the  same  to  all 
persons  similarly  situated. 

What  is  an  undue  or  unreasonable  preference  or  charge 
under  Section  3  of  the  Act  is  a  question  of  fact,  but  sub- 
ject to  the  various  circumstances  rates  ought  to  be  rela- 
tively equal  and  reasonable.  A  carrier  has  no  right  to 
make  rates  so  as  to  overcome  the  natural  advantages  of 


46  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

one  place  over  another,  or  to  build  up  one  place  or  section 
at  the  expense  of  another. 

It  should  be  noted  that  when  general  rate  adjustments 
and  rates  blanketed  over  large  areas  which  contemplate 
substantial  justice  among  all  shippers  result  in  individual 
instances  of  inequality,  they  fail  in  their  purpose  to  that 
extent.  Their  strict  observance  in  such  cases  upon  no 
other  ground  than  the  arbitrary  theory  of  their  exist- 
ence should  yield  as  far  as  is  necessary  to  prevent  gross 
injustice,  just  as  other  general  rules  are  subject  to  excep- 
tions. 

The  following  is  a  typical  case  where  discrimination 
was  found  to  exist.  On  shipments  of  coal  for  railway  use 
from  the  district  near  Wheeling,  West  Virginia,  defend- 
ant carriers  extended  much  lower  rates  than  when  the 
coal  was  to  be  used  for  other  purposes.  It  was  held  that 
such  practices  on  the  part  of  the  carriers  ought  to  be 
stopped  as  resulting  in  unjust  discrimination  in  favor  of 
producers  having  contracts  for  the  sale  of  coal  to  carriers. 
There  is  no  warrant  in  the  common  law  or  the  Act  for  the 
theory  that  a  carrier  as  a  shipper  over  the  lines  of  other 
carriers  may  be  given  a  preferred  rate.  The  practice 
cannot  be  upheld  without  removing  the  very  corner  stone 
of  the  Act  designed  to  prevent  unjust  discrimination  and 
practices.  If  carriers  insist  upon  making  or  maintaining 
such  preferential  rates  they  may  confidently  expect  that 
such  voluntary  action  on  their  part  will  be  accepted  in 
any  further  proceedings  in  this  or  any  similar  cases  as 
evidence  of  the  unreasonableness  of  higher  rates  which 
they  may  undertake  to  enforce  against  other  shippers.9 

Eates  on  vehicles  from  Chicago  to  a  considerable  part 
of  the  South  and  Southeast  were  made  and  largely  con- 
trolled by  the  direct  line  of  the  Illinois  Central  Eailroad, 

•Hitchman  Coal  &  Coke  Co.  v.  B.  &  0.  R.  R.  Co.,  16  I.  C.  C.  512, 
517,  518. 


SECTION  3  47 

the  short-line  carrier.  Defendants  elected  to  meet,  via 
their  lines  and  the  various  Ohio  Eiver  and  Virginia  Cities 
gateways,  the  rates  so  made  from  Chicago  and  to  accord 
somewhat  similarly  favorable  rate  adjustments  to  other 
points  east  of  Chicago.  They  refused  to  accord  these 
rates  to  traffic  from  Toledo  to  Ohio  Eiver  Crossings  and 
to  Virginia  Cities  destined  beyond  these  basing  points  to 
the  South  and  Southeast.  It  was  held  that  carriers  may 
not  select  certain  points  of  production  on  their  lines,  giv- 
ing them  the  benefit  of  rates  that  permit  meeting  the 
competition  of  producers  located  upon  other  lines,  and 
denying  such  advantageous  rates  to  other  producing 
points  upon  their  lines  that  are  similarly  situated,  and 
as  to  which  the  same  long-established  basis  of  rates  ap- 
plies, and  that  the  practice  indulged  in  resulted  in  unjust 
discrimination.10 

The  following  is  a  case  where  discrimination  was 
found  not  to  exist.  Point  Pleasant,  New  Jersey,  is 
two  and  one-half  miles  south  of  Seagirt,  New  Jer- 
sey. Manasquan  lies  between  Seagirt  and  Point  Pleasant. 
Bay  Head  lies  one  mile  south  of  Point  Pleasant.  The 
Pennsylvania  Eailroad,  approaching  from  the  south, 
reaches  all  these  towns.  On  coal  from  Pennsylvania 
mines  it  charged  $2.05  to  Bay  Head  and  Point  Pleasant, 
and  only  $1.90  to  Manasquan  and  Seagirt.  The  lower 
rate  to  Seagirt  and  Manasquan  was  compelled  by  the 
competition  of  the  Central  Eailroad  of  New  Jersey,  which 
was  the  short-line  route  reaching  Seagirt  and  Manasquan, 
but  which  did  not  reach  Point  Pleasant.  To  lower  the 
Point  Pleasant  rate  would  have  the  effect  of  disturbing 
the  rate  to  points  in  the  South  grouped  by  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Eailroad  with  Point  Pleasant.  No  evidence  was 
offered  of  the  unreasonableness  per  se  of  the  Point  Pleas- 

"Milburn  Wagon  Co.  v.  L.  S.  &  M.  S.  Ry.  Co.,  22  I.  C.  C.  93,  100, 
101. 


48  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

ant  rate.    It  was  held  that  such  rate  was  not  unduly 
discriminatory  against  coal  dealers  at  Point  Pleasant.11 

Justification  of  discrimination:  Carrier  as  shipper  or 
consignee. — Many  reasons  have  been  urged  to  justify  dis- 
crimination. Eailroads  are  necessarily  large  purchasers 
of  commodities  such  as  coal,  steel,  oil,  and  the  like.  Fre- 
quently, lower  rates  are  charged  for  these  commodities 
when  for  railroad  use  than  when  they  are  sold  for  other 
purposes. 

It  is  now  well  settled  that  a  carrier  as  a  shipper  over 
the  lines  of  another  carrier  may  not  have  any  preference 
in  the  application  of  transportation  rates  and  charges. 
Conversely,  it  may  have  the  same  privileges  under  the 
tariffs  as  any  other  shipper. 

Same  subject:  Carrier  not  serving  prejudiced  point. 
— Very  often  carriers  are  charged  with  discriminating 
against  some  city  to  which  their  rails  do  not  actually 
extend.  It  was  originally  thought  that  a  carrier  could 
not  be  guilty  of  discrimination  against  a  locality  to  which 
its  line  of  road  did  not  physically  extend.  The  rule  has 
now  been  stated  to  be  that  a  railroad  cannot  be  said  to 
discriminate  against  a  town  it  does  not  reach  and  in 
whose  trade  it  does  not  participate.  If,  however,  a  car- 
rier is  a  link  in  a  through  route  that  does  participate  in 
the  trade  of  a  locality  it  may  be  charged  with  being  guilty 
of  discrimination.  The  fact  that  its  rails  do  not  actually 
extend  to  the  shipping  center  discriminated  against  can- 
not relieve  it  from  responsibility  for  the  effect  of  rates 
creating  such  discrimination  which  it  controls  and  in 
which  it  participates.  However,  a  line  not  serving  a 
particular  point  cannot  be  said  to  discriminate  against  it 
in  any  rate  adjustment  created  by  circumstances  beyond 
its  control,  though  as  a  connecting  line  it  may  participate 
in  the  rates  imposed. 

"Ocean  Co.  Coal  Co.  v.  Central  R.  R.  of  N.  J.,  17  I.  C.  C.  383,  384. 


SECTION  3  49 

Neither  can  it  be  said  to  discriminate  against  a  point 
served  by  it  because  other  carriers  have  lower  rates  to 
the  same  place  from  points  on  their  own  lines. 

The  following  case  is  illustrative.  The  rates  on  pe- 
troleum from  Coffeyville,  Kan.,  to  Memphis,  Tenn.,  are 
higher  than  those  from  Whiting,  Ind.,  and  from  Illinois 
points  to  Memphis,  but  there  is  no  unjust  discrimination 
against  Coffeyville  because  the  carriers  serving  Coffey- 
ville are  not  those  serving  Whiting  and  the  Illinois 
points.12 

Same  subject:  Competition  in  general. — Perhaps  the 
excuse  urged  more  frequently  than  any  other  to  justify 
discrimination  is  that  greater  competition  may  exist  at 
one  point  than  another.  In  considering  a  question  of 
discrimination,  competition  is  an  important  element  to  be 
taken  into  account.  Competition  as  a  controlling  force 
cannot  be  ignored  by  the  Commission  in  determining 
whether  a  change  in  rate  at  the  competitive  point  is 
undue  or  is  one  not  chargeable  to  the  carriers  because 
involuntarily  made.  Competition  which  compels  lower 
rates  to  one  city  than  to  another  city  similarly  situated 
may  justify  such  rate  adjustment;  but  the  mere  fact  of 
competition,  regardless  of  its  character,  does  not  relieve 
carriers  from  the  limitations  of  Section  3.13 

While  competition  at  a  given  point  may  render  the 
circumstances  substantially  dissimilar  and  justify  a  dis- 
crimination against  points  where  such  competition  is  not 
controlling,  such  dissimilarity  of  circumstances  does  not 
relieve  the  carrier  altogether  from  the  restraint  of  Sec- 
tion 3,  and  the  amount  of  discrimination  must  not  be 
greater  than  the  dissimilarity  of  circumstances  demands. 
Moreover,  the  carrier  cannot  be  permitted  to  compete  at 

"Nat'l  Petroleum  Ass'n  v.  M.  P.  Ry.  Co.,  18  I.  C.  C.  593,  594. 
"Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Newport  News  v.  S.  Ry.  Co.,  23  I.  C.  C. 
345,  353. 


50  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

one  point  and  decline  to  compete  at  another  where  all 
conditions  are  the  same. 

There  are  various  kinds  of  competition,  which  may  be 
stated  as  artificial,  potential,  rail,  and  water. 

Same  subject:  Potential  competition. — Potential  com- 
petition is  the  possibility  of  actually  developing  competi- 
tion. Thus,  the  possibility  of  actual  competition  develop- 
ing on  a  river,  for  instance,  justifies  a  slight  difference 
in  rates  between  a  river  point  and  one  not  so  situated. 
For  instance,  the  competitive  influence  of  the  Erie  Canal 
has  to  a  considerable  extent  disappeared,  but  it  still  pro- 
duces profound  effect  upon  grain  rates  from  Chicago  to 
the  Atlantic  seaboard.14 

Same  subject:  Railroad  competition. — Kailroad  com- 
petition is  that  which  exists  through  the  fact  of  more 
than  one  railroad  serving  the  same  point.  Where  such  a 
situation  exists  it  is  obvious  that  the  railroad  giving  the 
lowest  rate  will  get  the  business.  Moreover,  it  may  well 
happen  that  one  road  will  have  a  shorter  line  to  a  certain 
destination  than  another.  It  will,  therefore,  cost  that 
carrier  less  for  transportation  and  at  the  same  time  af- 
ford to  the  shipper  more  expeditious  service.  In  order  to 
obtain  any  sort  of  business,  the  carrier  with  the  more 
circuitous  route  must  meet  whatever  rate  the  short-line 
carrier  sees  fit  to  publish,  or  else  retire  from  the  business 
altogether. 

The  Commission  cannot  compel  any  carrier  to  meet 
competition.  Thus,  if  the  long-line  carrier  does  not  see 
fit  to  meet  the  rate  established  by  its  competitor  it  cannot 
be  compelled  to  do  so.  It  cannot,  however,  compete  at 
one  point  and  refuse  to  compete  at  another  similarly  sit- 
uated. The  greater  the  number  of  carriers  serving  a 
shipping  center  the  more  intense  the  competition.    Such 

"Board  of  Trade  of  Chicago  v.  A.  C.  R.  R.  Co.,  20  I.  C.  C.  504,  507. 


SECTION  3  51 

competition  is  a  complete  justification  for  lower  rates  for 
such  a  locality  than  to  one  not  so  situated. 

Thus,  most  of  the  great  systems  in  Official  Classifica- 
tion Territory  have  existed  in  substantially  their  present 
form  for  the  past  twenty-five  years.  Originally,  there 
was  the  most  active  competition  in  the  rate  of  transporta- 
tion by  rail,  and  the  tariffs  in  Official  Classification  Terri- 
tory are  largely  the  product  of  that  competition.  There 
is  a  strong  presumption  that  rates  so  arrived  at  are  rea- 
sonable rates.15 

Same  subject:  Water  competition. — Among  the  rea- 
sons frequently  urged  as  an  excuse  for  discrimination  is 
that  water  competition  may  exist  at  the  favored  point. 
Water  competition  at  a  given  point  may  render  circum- 
stances and  conditions  dissimilar  and  justify  discrimi- 
nation against  points  where  such  competition  is  not  con- 
trolling. Carriers  may,  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  water 
competition,  make  rates  lower  than  would  otherwise  be 
justifiable,  even  to  the  extent  of  charging  a  less  rate  to 
the  more  distant  point. 

The  carrier  may  determine  for  itself  whether  it  will  or 
will  not  meet  such  water  competition.  While,  however, 
it  may  in  the  first  instance  settle  its  policy  in  this  respect, 
it  must  act  under  certain  limitations.  It  cannot  be  per- 
mitted to  compete  at  one  point  and  decline  to  compete  at 
another  where  the  conditions  are  the  same,  nor  should  it 
be  allowed  to  compete  one  day  and  decline  to  compete  the 
next. 

The  public  has  the  right  to  require  equal  and  uniform 
treatment  within  the  bounds  of  reason.  Cases  might  arise 
where  the  Commission  would  require  the  continuance  of 
a  rate  established  to  meet  such  competition.16    Under  the 

"Advances  in  Rates — Eastern  Case,  2  I.  C.  C.  243,  259. 
"Darling  &  Co.  v.  B.  &  0.  R.  R.  Co.,  15  I.  C.  C.  235,  237. 


52  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

law  as  it  exists  at  present,  it  is  difficult  for  carriers  to 
raise  rates  once  lowered  by  water  competition. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  every  city  is  entitled  to 
the  advantage  of  its  location  and  may  not  lawfully  be 
subjected  to  higher  freight  rates  merely  because  carriers, 
for  reasons  of  convenience  or  otherwise,  include  it  with  a 
number  of  other  points  in  surrounding  territory,  which 
latter  points  are  not  similarly  situated.  On  the  other 
hand,  a  community  is  not  discriminated  against  because 
owing  to  the  disadvantage  of  its  location  it  is  entitled 
only  to  such  rates  as  do  not  allow  it  to  compete  with  other 
localities. 

Furthermore,  the  carrier  is  entitled  to  encourage  the 
territory  it  serves.  No  undue  preference  results  from  the 
fact  that  a  carrier  maintains  lower  rates  from  points  on 
its  own  line  than  other  carriers  maintain  on  the  same 
traffic  from  points  near  by  on  their  lines.  Within  certain 
limitations  a  railroad  may  protect  its  territory  and 
within  those  limits  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission 
may  consider  rates  and  their  effect  upon  the  amount  of 
traffic.  In  carrying  out  this  purpose  the  carrier  may 
often  adjust  its  rates  to  meet  so-called  market  competi- 
tion. However,  market  competition  is  merely  a  euphe- 
mism for  railroad  policy.  The  desire  of  a  number  of 
shippers  to  reach  a  market  is  a  force  to  which  the  carrier 
may  not  yield  unless  it  can  establish  clearly  that  the 
adoption  of  such  a  policy  will  not  discriminate  against 
one  community  in  favor  of  another,  and  will  not  produce 
those  results  which  the  law  was  intended  to  prevent. 
Neither  can  a  carrier,  in  order  to  build  up  and  foster 
industries  on  its  own  line,  lawfully  refuse  to  carry  the 
products  of  like  industries  located  on  connecting  lines. 

It  is  the  equality  guaranteed  by  the  Act  that  the  carrier 
must  furnish.  Section  3  applies  to  discrimination  against 
interstate  traffic,  and  the  fact  that  a  carrier's  rates  on 


SECTION  3  53 

interstate  shipments  are  established  by  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Commission  does  not  relieve  that  carrier  even 
in  the  event  of  the  duty  so  to  adjust  its  rates  as  to  inter- 
state traffic  that  justice  will  be  done  between  communi- 
ties regardless  of  state  lines. 

Thus,  with  respect  to  water  competition,  it  is  fairly 
established  that  the  influence  of  water  competition  does 
not  cease  at  the  Pittsburgh-Buffalo  line,  but  extends 
westward  as  to  certain  particular  commodities.  Doubt- 
less, for  some  distance  west  of  Pittsburgh  the  carriers 
may  properly  make  rates  which  will  prevent  the  move- 
ment eastward  to  the  seaboard,  instead  of  westward  over 
their  line;  but  records  of  the  Commission  for  twenty 
years  fail  to  disclose  any  but  the  most  fragmentary  evi- 
dence that  sea  competition  extends  to  Chicago.17 

Removal  of  discrimination. — It  is  sometimes  very  diffi- 
cult to  remove  a  discriminatory  situation,  for  the  reason 
that  rates  are  more  or  less  interrelated,  and  to  reduce  one 
rate  means  the  disturbance  of  others.  It  is,  however, 
well  settled  that  relief  against  discrimination  due  to  a 
rate  adjustment  cannot  be  denied  on  the  ground  that 
other  points  similarly  situated  might  thereby  be  induced 
to  ask  for  relief.  If  unreasonableness  and  discrimination 
are  present,  the  Commission  will  not  hesitate  to  reduce 
rates  because  of  the  threat  of  a  reduction  from  carriers 
serving  competing  localities. 

The  Commission  may  remove  discrimination  either 
through  a  reduction  in  rates  to  one  point,  or  by  permit- 
ting the  carrier  to  raise  the  rate  to  the  favored  point. 
"While  it  is  proper  to  consider  the  effect  of  a  de- 
cision upon  the  general  rate  adjustment  applying  over 
a  wide  scope  of  territory,  rates  which  discriminate 
against  one  locality  cannot  be  justified  on  the  ground 
that  they  are  part  of  a  general  scheme  adopted  by  several 

"R.  R.  Com.  of  Nev.  v.  S.  P.  Co.,  21  I.  C.  C.  329,  355. 


54  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

roads  entering  the  same  territory.  In  other  words,  un- 
reasonable rates  or  undue  and  unjust  discrimination 
should  be  corrected,  even  if  long-standing  adjustments 
must  be  disturbed. 

2.    Facilities 

Interchange  of  facilities. — Section  3  provides  that  all 
common  carriers  subject  to  the  Act  shall  afford  all  rea- 
sonable, proper,  and  equal  facilities  for  the  interchange 
of  traffic  between  their  respective  lines,  and  for  the  re- 
ceiving, forwarding,  and  delivering  of  cars  to  and  from 
their  several  lines  and  those  connecting  therewith,  and 
shall  not  discriminate  in  their  rates  between  such  con- 
necting lines.  On  the  other  hand,  no  such  common  car- 
rier shall  be  required  to  give  the  use  of  its  tracks  or 
terminal  facilities  to  another  carrier  engaged  in  like 
business.  Carriers  are  required  to  make  reasonable  rules 
and  regulations  with  respect  to  the  interchange  and  re- 
turn of  cars  used  upon  through  routes  and  for  the  opera- 
tion of  such  through  routes.  Where  they  have  failed  in 
this  respect  the  Commission  is  empowered  to  determine 
the  individual  and  joint  rate  that  is  fair  and  reasonable. 

The  duty  of  an  originating  carrier  to  furnish  equip- 
ment for  a  shipment  which  moves  on  to  other  lines  is 
universally  recognized  and  in  cases  where  that  is  imprac- 
ticable or  deemed  unwise,  the  carrier  is  asked  to  bear  the 
burden  of  the  transfer  from  the  equipment  of  one  line  to 
that  of  another.  The  railroads  are  required,  under  the 
Act,  to  serve  the  through  routes  which  they  have  estab- 
lished with  other  carriers  without  respect  to  the  fact  that 
in  rendering  such  service  equipment  may  be  carried  be- 
yond their  own  lines.  However,  a  carrier  generally  has 
no  right  to  send  empty  cars  off  its  line  until  it  has  fur- 
nished sufficient  cars  to  its  own  shippers.    The  point  at 


SECTION  3  55 

which  traffic  is  to  be  interchanged  should  be  determined 
by  the  carriers,  but  the  Commission  will  decide  the  mat- 
ter in  case  of  discrimination. 

It  might  be  noted  here  that  state  legislation,  with  ref- 
erence to  the  duty  of  carriers  to  install  interchange 
tracks,  is  not  prohibited  where  it  amounts  to  no  more 
than  a  reasonable  regulation  of  an  instrumentality  of  in- 
terstate commerce,  and  affects  such  commerce  only  sec- 
ondarily or  remotely.  A  carrier  cannot  establish  a 
through  route  and  joint  rate  except  with  the  concurrence 
of  the  other  carriers  that  form  parts  of  such  route  or  by 
order  of  the  Commission;  and  in  the  absence  of  agree- 
ment no  connecting  carrier  is  obliged  to  furnish  cars  to 
take  shipments  from  points  of  origin  on  another  carrier's 
lines. 

Terminal  facilities. — A  carrier  is  not  required  to  give 
its  terminal  facilities  to  a  competitor.  However,  if  car- 
riers are  allowing  the  use  of  their  tracks  or  terminal 
facilities,  then  the  proviso  of  Section  3  has  no  application. 
Terminals  are  either  open  or  they  are  not,  and  if  a  car- 
rier holds  itself  out  as  ready  to  permit  the  use  of  its 
tracks  at  a  certain  charge,  the  fact  that  such  charge  may 
be  prohibitive  does  not  mean  that  the  terminals  are  not 
open.  On  the  contrary,  it  would  seem  to  be  a  potent 
argument  for  the  reduction  of  charges  for  the  use  of 
tracks  or  terminal  facilities  already  extended.  That  car- 
riers offer  each  to  the  other  the  use  of  their  respective 
tracks  or  terminals,  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  freight  is 
actually  interchanged  after  its  arrival  at  the  terminal  and 
for  this  service  charges  are  provided  in  tariffs  published 
and  filed.  It  follows  that  having  elected  to  perform  this 
service,  the  carrier  must  make  its  charge  reasonable. 


SECTION  4 
1.    Long-and-Short-Haul  Eule 

In  general. — This  section  is  the  famous  long-and-short- 
haul  provision  of  the  Act.  It  makes  it  unlawful  for  any- 
common  carrier  subject  to  the  Act  to  charge  or  receive 
greater  compensation  for  a  shorter  distance  than  that 
exacted  for  the  transportation  of  persons  or  any  like  kind 
of  property  for  a  longer  distance  over  the  same  line  or 
route  in  the  same  direction,  the  shorter  distance  being 
included  within  the  longer  distance,  or  to  charge  any 
greater  compensation  as  a  through  rate  than  the  aggre- 
gate of  the  intermediate  rates.  Upon  application  to  the 
Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  however,  the  carrier 
may,  in  special  cases,  after  investigation,  be  authorized 
by  the  Commission  to  charge  less  for  a  longer  than  for  a 
shorter  distance  for  the  transportation  of  passengers  or 
property. 

The  Commission  may  from  time  to  time  designate 
the  extent  to  which  the  common  carrier  may  be  re- 
lieved from  the  operation  of  Section  4,  provided  that  no 
rates  or  charges  lawfully  existing  at  the  time  of  the  pas- 
sage of  that  section  as  amended  could  be  required  to  be 
changed  by  reason  of  such  section  prior  to  the  expiration 
of  six  months  after  the  passage  of  the  amendment.  Like- 
wise, when  the  application  to  be  excepted  from  the  re- 
quirements of  Section  4  shall  have  been  filed  with  the 
Commission,  the  provision  will  not  apply  until  a  deter- 
mination thereof  has  been  made  by  the  Commission. 

Whenever  a  carrier  by  rail  shall,  in  competition  with 
a  water  route  or  routes,  reduce  the  rates  on  the  carriage 

56 


SECTION  4  57 

of  any  species  of  freight  to  or  from  competitive  points, 
it  shall  not  be  permitted  to  increase  such  rates  unless, 
after  a  hearing  by  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission, 
it  shall  be  found  that  such  increase  rests  upon  changed 
conditions  other  than  the  elimination  of  water  competi- 
tion. 

The  various  intermountain  cases  are,  perhaps,  the  best 
known  of  all  those  which  have  arisen  under  Section  4. 
Proceedings  were  brought  by  the  states  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  and  east  of  the  Pacific  coast  to  obtain 
relief  from  the  excessively  high  rates  which  they  had  to 
bear.  The  railroads  for  years  had  maintained  lower  rates 
to  the  Pacific  coast  from  points  east  of  the  Mississippi 
River  than  they  did  to  the  so-called  intermountain  points, 
such  as  Reno,  Salt  Lake  City,  Spokane,  and  the  like. 
The  carriers  contended  that  on  account  of  the  fact  that 
the  Pacific  coast  was  located  on  the  ocean,  so  that  ship- 
ments from  the  East  could  move  through  the  eastern 
seaboard  and  around  Cape  Horn,  they  were  compelled 
to  maintain  lower  rates  to  points  on  the  Pacific  coast 
than  to  points  in  the  interior.  A  great  many  cases  were 
brought  by  these  interior  points,  forming  a  group  of  cases 
known  as  the  intermountain  cases.  Finally,  under  Sec- 
tion 4  as  amended,  the  seventeen  carriers  applied  to  the 
Commission  for  relief  from  the  provisions  of  the  section. 
The  applications  covered  the  whole  territory  from  the 
Atlantic  seaboard  to  the  Pacific  coast  and  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  embracing  practically  the  entire  country.  They 
asked  authority  to  continue  all  rates  on  the  tariffs  pre- 
sented, from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  lower  than  rates 
concurrently  in  effect  to  intermediate  points.  The  Com- 
mission refused  to  grant  their  petitions,  but  entered  an 
order  permitting  in  some  respects  a  charge  of  a  lower 
rate  for  the  longer  haul  than  was  asked  for  the  shorter 
haul,  provided  a  proportionate  relation  was  maintained 


58  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

between  them,  the  proportion  to  be  upon  the  basis  of 
percentages  which  were  fixed. 

For  the  purpose  of  the  order  the  Commission  adopted 
in  substance  a  division  of  the  entire  territory  into  sep- 
arate zones,  which  division  had  been  resorted  to  by  the 
carriers  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  the  rates  in  rela- 
tion to  which  the  petitions  were  filed.  The  carriers  con- 
tended that  under  Section  4  as  amended  by  the  Act  of 
June  18,  1910,  the  Commission  was  limited  to  ascertain- 
ing the  existence  of  any  competition,  and  to  authorizing 
the  carrier  to  meet  it,  without  any  authority  to  do  more 
than  exercise  its  general  powers  concerning  the  reason- 
ableness of  rates  at  all  points. 

For  the  purpose  of  disposing  of  the  Spokane  case 
under  Section  4,  the  Commission  has  divided  the  United 
States  into  five  territorial  zones.1 

From  Zone  1  no  higher  charge  can  justly  be  made  at 
any  intermediate  point  than  to  a  more  distant  point,  and 
there  is  no  justification  for  a  system  of  rates  which  main- 
tains from  this  territory  a  higher  charge  to  any  interior 
point  than  is  made  to  the  coast.  From  Zone  2  the  rates 
to  intermediate  points  may  properly  exceed  by  not  more 
than  7  per  cent  rates  from  the  same  points  of  origin  to 
Pacific  Coast  Terminals.  In  Zone  3  the  rates  from  points 
of  origin  to  intermediate  points  may  properly  exceed 
those  to  terminal  points  by  not  more  than  15  per  cent. 
In  Zone  4  rates  from  points  of  origin  to  intermediate 
points  may  properly  exceed  those  to  terminal  points  by 
not  more  than  25  per  cent.  In  Zone  5  no  opinion  is  ex- 
pressed at  this  time,  since  rates  from  that  territory  are 
not  involved  in  these  proceedings.2 

*The  description  of  these  zones  is  given  in  detail  in  "Freight  Rates 
Western  Territory,"  Part  3. 

'City  of  Spokane  v.  N.  P.  Ry.  Co.,  21  I.  C.  C.  400,  426,  426. 


SECTION  4  59 

The  carriers  appealed  the  case  to  the  Commerce  Court 
and  the  order  of  the  Commission  was  enjoined.  In  Atchi- 
son, Topeka  &  Santa  Fe  Railway  Co.  v.  U.  S.,8  the  court 
held  that  the  Commission  by  its  orders  respecting  the 
relation  of  rates  from  eastern  points  to  Spokane,  Reno, 
and  other  intermountain  cities  as  compared  with  the  rates 
to  Pacific  Coast  Terminals,  established  certain  zones  and 
entered  orders  which  did  not  establish  absolute  rates  for 
either  the  long  or  the  short  haul,  or  prescribe  the  extent, 
in  dollars  and  cents,  that  the  short-haul  rate  might  exceed 
the  present  or  some  definitely  fixed  long-haul  rate;  but 
that  it  established  a  relation  between  any  long-haul  rate 
that  the  carrier  might  put  into  effect  and  the  short-haul 
rate  by  determining  that  from  Zone  1  the  western  short- 
haul  rate  should  not  exceed  the  long-haul  rate,  and  from 
Zones  2,  3,  and  4  the  short-haul  rates  should  not  exceed 
the  long-haul  rate  by  more  than  7  per  cent,  15  per  cent, 
and  25  per  cent,  respectively.  For  this  reason,  the  Com- 
mission exceeded  its  authority,  since  it  has  no  power  to 
say  that  any  given  percentage  of  a  known,  less-than- 
reasonable  rate  to  the  coast  is  necessarily  a  maximum 
reasonable  and  non-discriminatory  rate  from  the  same 
point  of  origin  to  an  interior  point.  The  case  was  then 
appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  and 
that  court  held  that  under  Section  4  as  amended,  the  Com- 
mission is  not  only  authorized  to  consider  competitive 
conditions  and  their  relation  to  persons  and  places,  but 
also  has  the  right  to  do  that  by  which  alone  its  power 
could  be  exerted,  namely,  the  establishment  of  zones  and 
percentages.4 

Constitutionality  of  Section  4.— The  Government  may 
properly  determine  what  policy  railroads  shall  pursue  so 

'191  Fed.  856. 

*U.  S.  v.  A.  T.  &  S.  F.  Ry.  Co.,  34  Sup.  Ct.  986,  994,  reversing  191 
Fed.  856,  enjoining  the  order  of  the  Commission  in  I.  C.  C. 


60  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

long  as  the  guarantees  of  the  Constitution  are  safe- 
guarded. If  it  is  injurious  to  the  interstate  commerce  of 
the  country  and  inimical  to  the  public  welfare  to  permit 
its  railroad  highways  to  be  used  so  as  to  promote  unduly 
the  growth  and  prosperity  of  one  city  as  against  another 
by  charging  more  to  the  nearer  point,  it  is  then  the  proper 
sphere  of  Congress  to  prohibit  absolutely  and  completely 
the  pursuance  of  such  policy  by  the  railroads.  Therefore, 
the  long-and-short-haul  provision  of  the  Act  is  constitu- 
tional. 

Jurisdiction  of  Commission. — Congress  has  said  to  car- 
riers of  interstate  commerce  by  rail  that  they  must  not 
charge  more  for  the  short  than  for  the  long  haul,  unless 
they  can  show  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Commission  that 
in  so  doing  their  rates  do  not  violate  the  inhibition  of  the 
Act  as  expressed  in  both  Sections  1  and  3.  The  Commis- 
sion may  prescribe  the  maximum  difference  in  rates 
which  may  be  made  against  intermediate  points,  or  may 
fix  a  rate  at  the  more  distant  point  below  which  a  carrier 
must  not  go,  or  may  define  the  territory  from  which  a 
higher  intermediate  charge  may  be  made.  However,  the 
whole  situation  must  be  considered  by  the  Commission 
in  passing  upon  an  application  for  relief  from  the  provi- 
sions of  Section  4  and  in  doing  so  it  may  inquire  whether 
rates  to  intermediate  points  are  reasonable. 

Exceptions. — It  will  be  noted  that  this  section  provides 
that  upon  application  to  the  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mission the  carrier  may,  in  special  cases,  be  authorized  to 
charge  less  for  longer  than  for  shorter  distances.  These 
instances  are  known  as  exceptions  to  Section  4  and  in 
this  connection  the  Commission  has  had  a  great  deal  of 
work  to  do.  In  fact,  thousands  of  applications  have  been 
filed  and  it  can  truthfully  be  said  that  at  the  present  time 
the  exception  clause  is  more  important  than  any  other 
part  of  Section  4.    The  guide  to  the  exercise  of  the  Com- 


SECTION  4  61 

mission's  discretion  in  granting  exceptions  is  to  be  found 
in  the  other  sections  of  the  Act.  This  fact  limits  the  dis- 
cretion to  exempt  carriers  from  the  prohibition,  and  im- 
poses upon  the  Commission  not  merely  the  right  but  also 
the  duty  to  grant  such  exemption  whenever  on  investiga- 
tion it  shall  find  that  no  violation  of  any  section  of  the 
Act  would  thereby  be  involved. 

The  Commission,  in  granting  exemptions  to  carriers, 
may  accomplish  the  result  in  one  of  the  following  ways : 
(1)  By  fixing  the  geographical  limit  within  which  there 
can  be  no  discrimination,  and  permitting  higher  rates 
from  other  territory  to  the  extent  of  the  competition, 
which  justifies  discrimination;  (2)  it  may  fix  the 
limit  of  the  rail  rate  at  the  more  distant  point  with 
reference  to  the  rate  to  intermediate  points,  thereby 
prescribing  the  zone  of  rate  discrimination  which 
may  be  lawful  and  justified;  or  (3)  where  either  of 
these  methods  does  not  seem  to  be  practicable,  it 
may  permit  the  carrier  to  continue  the  rates  to 
the  more  distant  point,  and,  dealing  with  intermediate 
points  alone,  prescribe  a  reasonable  rate  which  the  car- 
rier, as  an  outgrowth  of  its  policies  or  its  methods  of 
making  rates,  may  not  exceed. 

In  point  of  law,  the  Commission  has  before  it,  on  every 
application  for  an  exception,  the  reasonableness  of  the 
rates  involved  in  the  carrier's  application.  It  was  not 
the  intention  of  Congress  to  permit  a  carrier  to  discrim- 
inate in  favor  of  a  more  distant  point  to  such  an  extent 
as  to  effect  not  only  an  undue  discrimination  against  the 
nearest  point,  but  the  imposition  of  an  excessive  charge. 
The  relieving  power  of  the  Commission  is  not  to  be  ex- 
ercised arbitrarily,  but  it  is  its  duty  to  permit  a  higher 
intermediate  charge  whenever  the  resulting  rates  will 
not  contravene  the  Act  in  that  they  are  unjust  and  unrea- 
sonable, or  unduly  discriminatory.    This  embraces  both 


62  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

a  preference  against  the  intermediate  point  and  the  rate 
which  that  point  is  required  to  pay.  Congress  intended 
to  say,  by  the  new  Section  4,  that  as  a  general  rule  there 
should  be  no  lesser  charge  to  the  more  distant  points,  but 
it  was  not  willing  to  say  that  there  should  be  no  excep- 
tions to  this  rule.  The  railroads,  however,  were  not  to 
make  these  exceptions  themselves.  Such  exceptions  were 
to  be  made  only  upon  petition  to  the  Commission,  their 
justifiableness  being  shown.  In  other  words,  the  burden 
rests  upon  the  carriers  to  justify  the  petition  for  excep- 
tion. 

Application  of  Section  4  to  rates. — In  determining  the 
application  of  Section  4,  a  great  many  questions  natu- 
rally arise,  and  these  can  be  touched  upon  only  briefly. 
Inasmuch  as  a  higher  rate  for  a  shorter  than  for  a  longer 
haul  is  unduly  prejudicial  to  the  intermediate  point 
where  conditions  are  similar,  the  charge  for  the  shorter 
distance  should  never  exceed  that  for  the  longer  dis- 
tance. Cost  of  service,  for  instance,  is  not  sufficient 
justification  for  a  greater  charge  to  an  intermediate  point. 
Even  if  conditions  should  justify  a  higher  charge  to  the 
intermediate  point,  the  intermediate  rate  should  not  ex- 
ceed the  long-distance  rate  plus  a  reasonable  local  charge 
from  the  more  remote  back  to  the  intermediate  point,  and 
should  often  be  even  less.5 

Competition  as  justification. — There  are  three  kinds  of 
competition  generally  urged  by  carriers  as  justifying  ex- 
ceptions to  Section  4.  These  are  market  competition, 
railroad  competition,  and  water  competition. 

Market  competition. — The  condition  brought  about  by 
the  desire  of  one  locality  to  sell  against  another  in  a  cer- 
tain territory  is  market  competition.  As  an  excuse  for 
justifying  the  higher  rate  to  an  intermediate  point,  it  has 

•Bluefield  Shippers  Ass'n  v.  N.  &  W.  Ry.  Co.,  22  I.  C.  C.  519,  531 ; 
Application  of  the  S.  P.  Co.,  22  I.  C.  C.  366,  374.    * 


SECTION  4  63 

been  absolutely  disregarded  by  the  Commission  and  re- 
jected. To  state  it  briefly,  the  Commission  has  held  that 
the  history  of  Section  4  makes  it  clear  that  it  was  born 
out  of  a  desire  and  has  been  actuated  by  the  purpose  to 
restrict  the  effect  of  market  competition.  In  other  words, 
market  competition  has  been  a  railroad  policy  that  the 
national  legislature  has  seen  fit  to  veto.  It  can,  therefore, 
be  considered  as  settled  that  the  desire  of  a  number  of 
shippers  to  reach  a  market  is  a  force  to  which  the  carrier 
may  not  yield  unless  it  can  establish  clearly  that  the 
adoption  of  such  policy  will  not  unfairly  discriminate 
against  one  community  in  favor  of  another,  and  will  not 
produce  those  results  which  the  law  was  intended  to 
prevent. 

Railroad  competition. — Competition  with  a  short  line 
serving  a  terminal  point  may  justify  a  departure  from 
the  long-and-short-haul  clause  by  the  carriers  that  serve 
that  point  by  more  circuitous  routes.  The  competition 
of  carriers  is  a  factor  to  be  considered  upon  application 
for  relief  from  Section  4.  However,  while  it  is  permissi- 
ble to  meet  competition  at  a  more  distant  point,  the  inter- 
mediate rate  should  not  be  prejudiced  by  an  unreasonably 
low  rate  to  the  more  distant  point. 

Water  competition. — Under  Section  4  a  carrier  may, 
through  the  existence  of  water  competition,  be  permitted 
to  charge  a  lower  rate  at  a  more  distant  point  than  exists 
at  an  intermediate  point.  Carriers  may  determine 
whether  they  will  meet  water  competition  or  not.  They 
cannot  be  compelled  to  meet  such  competition  if  they  do 
not  wish  to. 

Where  rates  are  fixed  at  certain  terminal  points  by 
water  competition  a  general  custom  has  obtained  of  mak- 
ing rates  to  intermediate  points  upon  the  combination 
of  the  competitive  rates  to  the  terminal  rate  plus  the  local 
rate  back.    The  reasonableness  of  a  rate  so  constructed 


64  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

necessarily  depends  largely  upon  the  reasonableness  of 
the  local  rate,  which  is  added  to  the  terminal  rate. 
Obviously,  no  rate  to  an  intermediate  point  constructed 
under  those  conditions  and  on  that  principle  can  reason- 
ably be  higher  than  the  sum  of  the  terminal  rate  plus  the 
local  rate  back. 

However,  the  mere  fact  that  a  terminal  point  is  situ- 
ated on  the  water  is  not  sufficient  to  excuse  higher  rates 
at  intermediate  points.  The  water  competition  must  be 
real. 

It  must  be  noted  that  Section  4  provides  that  whenever 
a  carrier  in  competition  with  a  water  route  reduces  the 
rate  to  or  from  the  competitive  points,  it  is  not  permitted 
to  increase  such  rates  unless,  after  hearing  by  the  Com- 
mission, it  is  found  that  such  proposed  increase  rests 
upon  changed  conditions  other  than  the  elimination  of 
water  competition. 


SECTION  5 

Pooling  of  freight. — Section  5  provides  that  it  shall 
be  unlawful  for  any  common  carrier  subject  to  the  Act 
to  enter  into  any  contract,  agreement,  or  combination 
with  any  other  common  carrier  or  carriers  for  the  pool- 
ing1 of  freights  of  different  and  competing  railroads,  or 
to  divide  between  them  the  aggregate  or  net  proceeds  of 
the  earnings  of  such  railroads,  or  any  portion  thereof; 
and  in  case  of  an  agreement  for  the  pooling  of  freights, 
each  day  of  its  continuance  is  a  separate  offense. 

Panama  Canal  Act:  Water  carriers. — Section  5  also 
provides  that  after  July  1,  1914,  it  shall  be  unlawful  for 
any  railroad  company  or  other  common  carrier  subject  to 
the  Act  to  own,  lease,  operate,  control,  or  have  any  inter- 
est whatsoever  (by  stock  ownership  or  otherwise,  either 
directly,  indirectly,  through  any  holding  company,  or  by 
stockholders  or  directors  in  common,  or  in  any  other 
manner)  in  any  common  carrier  by  water  operated 
through  the  Panama  Canal  or  elsewhere,  with  which  such 
carrier  does  or  may  compete  for  traffic. 

Jurisdiction  is  conferred  on  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission  to  determine  questions  of  fact  as  to  the  com- 
petition or  possibility  of  competition,  after  full  hearing, 
on  the  application  of  any  railroad  company  or  other  car- 
rier. Such  application  may  be  filed  for  the  purpose  of 
determining  whether  any  existing  service  is  in  violation 
of  this  section  and  pray  for  an  order  permitting  the  con- 
tinuance of  any  vessel  or  vessels  already  in  operation, 
or  for  the  purpose  of  asking  an  order  to  install  new 

'The  dividing  of  business  or  revenues  among  carriers  in  accordance 
with  agreements. 

65 


66  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

service  not  in  conflict  with  this  provision.  The  Commis- 
sion may,  on  its  own  motion  or  the  application  of  any 
shipper,  institute  proceedings  to  inquire  into  the  opera- 
tion of  any  vessel  in  use  by  any  railroad  or  other  carrier 
which  has  not  applied  to  the  Commission  and  had  the 
question  of  competition  or  the  possibility  of  competition 
determined  as  herein  provided.  In  all  such  cases  the 
order  of  the  Commission  is  to  be  final. 

If  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  shall  be  of 
the  opinion  that  any  such  existing  specified  service  by 
water  other  than  through  the  Panama  Canal  is  being 
operated  in  the  interest  of  the  public  and  is  of  advantage 
to  the  convenience  and  commerce  of  the  people,  and  that 
such  extension  will  not  exclude,  prevent,  or  reduce  com- 
petition on  the  route  by  water  under  consideration,  it 
may,  by  order,  extend  the  time  during  which  such  service 
by  water  may  continue  to  be  operated  beyond  July  1, 
1914.  In  every  case  of  such  extension,  the  rates,  sched- 
ules, and  practices  of  such  water  carrier  shall  be  filed 
with  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  and  shall  be 
subject  to  the  Act  in  the  same  manner  and  to  the  same 
extent  as  is  the  railroad  or  other  common  carrier  con- 
trolling such  water  carrier  or  interested  in  any  manner 
in  its  operation. 

No  vessel  permitted  to  engage  in  the  coastwise  or  for- 
eign trade  of  the  United  States  is  permitted  to  enter  or 
pass  through  the  Canal  if  such  ship  is  owned,  chartered, 
operated,  or  controlled  by  any  person  or  company  which 
is  doing  business  in  violation  of  the  Sherman  Anti-Trust 
Act. 

At  the  present  time  the  Commission  is  considering  the 
applications  from  various  carriers  which  own  ships  and 
desire  to  be  relieved  from  the  application  of  this  law. 
Many  of  the  great  trunk  lines  in  the  country  are 
owners  of  large  fleets  of  boats.    The  only  competitor  of 


SECTION  5  67 

the  railroad  is  the  water  carrier.  Therefore,  the  railroad, 
by  owning  the  water  carriers,  can  always  be  in  a  position 
to  fight  independent  water  lines  and  control  the  rates. 

The  opening  of  the  Panama  Canal  is  the  greatest 
menace  that  the  transcontinental  railroads  have  to  face. 
It  cuts  the  voyage  around  Cape  Horn  in  two  and  shortens 
the  distance  on  the  way  from  New  York  to  San  Francisco 
by  over  three  thousand  miles.  It  is  predicted  that  the 
Canal  will  cause  the  transcontinental  rates  to  decrease 
40  per  cent. 


SECTION  6 
1.    Tariffs 

Jurisdiction  of  Commission. — Section  61  provides  that 
every  carrier  subject  to  the  Act  must  file  with  the  Inter- 
state Commerce  Commission  and  print  and  keep  open  for 
public  inspection  schedules  showing  all  rates,  fares,  and 
charges  for  transportation  between  the  different  points 
on  its  own  routes,  and  all  different  points  on  its  own 
routes  and  those  on  the  routes  of  any  other  carrier  by 
railroad,  pipe  line,  or  waterway.  When  a  through  route 
has  been  established,  if  no  joint  rate  over  the  through 
route  has  been  fixed,  the  several  carriers  composing  such 
through  route  shall  file,  print,  and  keep  open  for  public 
inspection  the  separate  charges  for  the  through  trans- 
portation. 

It  is  further  provided  that  the  schedules  must  plainly 
state  the  places  between  which  property  and  passengers 
are  to  be  carried  and  must  state  storage  and  icing 
charges,  and  any  other  which  the  Commission  may  re- 
quire. The  schedules  must  also  specify  all  privileges  or 
facilities  granted  or  allowed,  and  any  rules  or  regulations 
that  would  affect  or  determine  any  part  or  the  aggregate 
of  such  charges  or  the  value  of  the  service  rendered  to 
the  passenger,  shipper,  or  consignee.  Such  schedules 
should  be  plainly  printed  in  large  type  and  copies  for  the 
use  of  the  public  should  be  placed  in  every  depot,  station, 
and  office  of  the  carrier. 

One  of  the  most  important  sections  of  the  whole  Act 
is  this  one  requiring  the  publishing  of  tariffs.    Its  effect 

'Of ten  referred  to  as  the  "publicity  clause"  of  the  Act 

68 


SECTION  6  69 

was  to  prevent  the  granting  of  secret  rates.  By  compel- 
ling adherence  to  its  provisions,  every  shipper  knows  the 
rate  that  every  other  shipper  is  supposed  to  pay.  By 
forcing  the  carrier  to  charge  the  published  rate,  the  giv- 
ing of  rebates  became  a  thing  of  the  past.  The  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  has  held  that  this  part  of  the 
Act  is  constitutional,  inasmuch  as  Congress  has  the 
constitutional  power  to  adopt  the  policy  of  requiring  the 
sale  of  transportation  by  carriers  only  for  cash  at  the 
published  rates,  and  to  prescribe  appropriate  means  to 
give  it  effect.2 

Publication:  Effect. — The  Act  imposes  upon  common 
carriers  subject  to  its  provisions  the  duty  of  establishing 
in  the  prescribed  manner  the  rates,  whether  individual  or 
joint,  to  be  charged  for  the  transportation  in  interstate 
commerce  of  property  over  their  lines.  The  rates  so 
established  are  obligatory  upon  carrier  and  shipper,  and 
must  be  strictly  observed  by  both  until  changed  in  the 
mode  prescribed.3 

Rates  filed  and  published  as  required  become  effective 
in  not  less  than  thirty  days  after  filing,  unless  special  per- 
mission is  given  by  the  Commission,  before  any  transpor- 
tation takes  place  thereunder.  Rates  duly  published  as 
required  by  the  Act  are  absolutely  binding  upon  carriers 
and  shippers  alike  until  lawfully  changed  as  provided  in 
the  Act.  This  does  not  render  ineffective  the  provision 
of  Section  1,  namely,  that  the  Commission  can  substitute 
reasonable  rates  for  the  future,  or  the  subsequent  provi- 
sion authorizing  the  Commission,  upon  proper  showing, 
to  award  damages  resulting  on  account  of  collecting  un- 
reasonable or  unlawful  rates  in  the  past. 

Adherence  to  published  rate.— The  duty  of  shippers  to 
pay  published  rates  is  precisely  the  same  as  the  duty  of 

*L.  &  N.  R.  R.  v.  Mottley,  219  U.  S.  467. 
'U.  3.  v.  Miller,  228  U.  S.  599. 


70  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

the  carriers  to  collect  such  rates.  The  fact  that  a  charge 
is  grossly  unjust  and  unreasonable  affords  no  excuse  to 
the  shipper,  the  carrier,  or  the  Commission  for  disregard- 
ing the  application  of  lawfully  published  and  established 
tariffs.  The  law  plainly  provides  for  but  one  method  of 
getting  rid  of  the  unreasonableness  or  unjustness  of  duly 
established  rates,  and  that  is  by  their  condemnation  upon 
complaint  and  investigation.  They  cannot  lawfully  be 
ignored  without  making  the  parties  to  such  transactions 
incur  the  penalties  of  the  law.  In  no  other  way  could  dis- 
criminations which  have  existed  be  prevented.  In  the 
enforcement  of  the  statute  in  this  respect,  the  Commis- 
sion has  no  discretion. 

A  tariff  cannot  be  varied  from  even  if,  in  a  particular 
case,  it  be  to  the  interest  of  both  the  shipper  and  the  rail- 
way that  it  be  done.  It  is  absolutely  beyond  the  power  of 
either  a  railroad  company  or  a  shipper  to  make  a  valid 
contract  for  a  less  rate  than  the  published  schedules  filed 
with  the  Commission;  and,  notwithstanding  a  contract 
of  this  kind,  the  measure  of  liability  of  the  shipper  is  the 
rate  so  published  and  filed. 

Erroneous  quotation  by  carrier. — A  frequent  cause  of 
complaint  is  the  erroneous  quoting  of  rates  by  carriers ' 
agents.  Frequently,  the  shipper  asks  the  railroad  what 
the  rate  is  between  certain  points.  The  carrier's  clerk, 
either  through  error  or  an  attempt  to  get  the  business, 
will  quote  a  rate  lower  than  the  one  actually  in  force. 
Under  such  circumstances  the  shipper  has  no  redress  but 
must  pay  the  published  rate  even  though  the  railroad 
has  quoted  a  lower  rate  to  him.  The  shipper  is  charge- 
able with  notice  of  the  published  rate  and  must  pay  it 
in  all  instances.  Under  the  recent  amendment,  however, 
the  shipper  may  demand  a  written  quotation  of  the  rate; 
if  the  carrier  quotes  the  wrong  rate  it  is  liable  to  a 
penalty  of  $250. 


SECTION  6  71 

Necessity  of  publication. — To  prevent  discrimination 
and  promote  equality  of  treatment  in  charges  and  serv- 
ices, the  law  requires  not  only  a  definite  statement  of  the 
amount  of  the  rates,  fares,  and  charges  of  carriers  in  their 
established  schedules,  but  an  equally  definite  statement 
therein  of  all  privileges  and  facilities  granted  or  allowed 
in  connection  therewith,4  and  any  rules  or  regulations 
which  in  any  way  affect  or  determine  any  part  or  the  ag- 
gregate of  the  rates,  fares,  or  charges,  or  the  value  of  the 
service  rendered  to  the  passenger,  shipper,  or  consignee. 
It  is  clear  that  no  schedule  complies  with  the  require- 
ments of  the  law  which  does  not  definitely  and  fully  state 
the  charges  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  services  to  be  ren- 
dered therefor  on  the  other. 

Purpose  of  publication. — The  objects  of  the  Act  are  to 
prevent  favoritism  and  to  secure  equal  rights  to  all  in 
interstate  transportation  and  to  apply  one  legal  rate  pub- 
lished, posted,  and  accessible  to  all  alike.5  The  reader 
should  always  bear  in  mind  this  most  important  prin- 
ciple, and  apply  it  as  a  test  to  all  questions  presented  to 
him  under  the  Act. 

Posting. — Contrary  to  the  general  impression,  the 
posting  of  rates  is  not  essential  to  make  them  legally 
operative  and  is  required  only  as  a  means  of  affording 
special  facilities  to  the  public  for  ascertaining  the  rates 
actually  in  force.  Publication  and  posting  within  the 
meaning  of  the  Act  are  essentially  distinct.  The  publica- 
tion intended  by  the  Act  consists  in  promulgating  and 
distributing  the  tariff  in  printed  form  preparatory  to  put- 
ting it  into  effect,  while  the  posting  is  a  continuing  act 
enjoined  upon  the  carrier  while  the  tariff  remains  opera- 
tive as  a  means  of  affording  special  facilities  to  the  public 

'Some  of  the  more  important  are  transit,  compression,  concentra- 
tion, elevation,  switching,  refrigeration,  reconsignment,  etc. 

•N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  R.  R.  R.  Co.  v.  U.  S.,  212  U.  S.  481. 


72  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

for  ascertaining  the  rates  in  force.  A  tariff  filed  with  the 
Commission  in  the  manner  prescribed  by  law  and  on 
statutory  notice  is  lawfully  binding  upon  both  carriers 
and  shippers  even  though  it  is  not  posted  at  stations  fully 
thirty  days  prior  to  its  effective  date. 

The  Act  provides  that  it  is  the  duty  of  every  carrier  by 
railroad  to  keep  at  all  times  conspicuously  posted  in 
every  station  where  freight  is  received  for  transportation 
the  name  of  an  agent  resident  in  the  city,  village,  or  town 
where  such  station  is  located,  to  whom  application  may 
be  made  for  the  information  required  to  be  furnished 
on  written  request;  and  in  case  any  carrier  shall  fail  at 
any  time  to  have  such  name  so  posted  in  any  station,  it 
shall  be  sufficient  to  mail  such  request  addressed  in  sub- 
stantially the  following  form:    "The  Station  Agent  of 

the Company  at station,"  together 

with  the  name  of  the  proper  post-office.  The  name  of  the 
carrier  company  and  of  the  station  should  be  inserted  in 
the  blanks. 

Construction. — A  great  many  questions  arise  as  to  the 
meaning  of  certain  tariffs.  As  a  general  rule,  it  may  be 
said  that  tariffs  are  to  be  construed  according  to  the 
reasonable  construction  of  their  language  and  not  by  the 
arbitrary  practice  or  intention  of  the  carrier.  A  tariff 
should  not  be  ambiguous  and  uncertain,  since  it  is  not 
just  or  fair  to  the  shipping  public  to  promulgate  as  a 
basis  for  determining  rates  a  tariff  the  terms  of 
which  are  either  wholly  or  partly  indefinite  or  imprac- 
ticable of  application.  Shippers  must  necessarily  be 
more  or  less  misled  thereby,  and  any  effort  on  the  part  of 
the  carriers  to  apply  the  tariff  by  a  lax  interpreta- 
tion thereof  must  result  in  inextricable  confusion.  The 
rate  on  an  article  of  commerce  should  be  plainly 
and  clearly  stated  in  terms  that  the  shipping  public  may 
readily  understand.   In  this  connection  the  reader  should 


SECTION  6  73 

consult  Tariff  Circular  No.  18- A,  which  contains  the  Com- 
mission 's  rules  on  the  subject.6 

Through  shipments. — Section  6  also  provides  that  any 
common  carrier  subject  to  the  Act  receiving  freight  in 
the  United  States  to  be  carried  through  a  foreign  country 
to  any  place  in  the  United  States  shall  similarly  print 
and  post  for  public  inspection  schedules  showing  the 
through  rates  established  and  charged  by  it  to  all  points 
in  the  United  States  beyond  the  foreign  country  to  which 
it  accepts  freight  for  shipment.  Any  freight  shipped 
from  the  United  States  through  a  foreign  country  into 
the  United  States  the  through  rate  on  which  shall  not 
have  been  made  public,  as  required  by  the  Act,  shall, 
before  it  is  admitted  into  the  United  States  from  such 
foreign  country,  be  subject  to  customs  duties  as  if  it  were 
of  foreign  production. 

The  same  rule  as  applies  to  rates  between  specified 
points  discussed  heretofore  also  applies  to  rates  that  are 
used  as  part  of  a  through  rate.  Thus,  state  rates  not  on 
file  with  the  Commission  are  not  a  lawful  factor  in  a 
combination  through  interstate  charge.  Very  frequently, 
state  rates  are  not  required  to  be  published  by  the  state 
law.  If  the  carrier  desires  to  use  such  rates  on  interstate 
shipments  it  must  publish  and  post  them  as  required  by 
the  Act. 

Section  6  also  provides  that  no  change  shall  be  made 
in  the  rates,  fares,  and  charges  or  joint  rates,  fares,  and 
charges  which  have  been  filed  and  published  by  any  com- 
mon carrier  in  compliance  with  the  requirements  of 
Section  6,  except  after  thirty  days '  notice  to  the  Commis- 
sion and  to  the  public,  published  as  provided.  This 
notice  shall  plainly  state  the  changes  proposed  to  be 
made  in  the  schedule  then  in  force  and  the  time  when  the 

"This  publication  is  incorporated  in  "Publication  and  Filing  of 
Tarifff." 


74  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

changes  will  go  into  effect;  the  proposed  changes  shall  be 
shown  by  printing  new  schedules,  or  shall  be  plainly  indi- 
cated upon  the  schedules  in  force  at  the  time  and  kept 
open  to  public  inspection ;  provided,  the  Commission  may, 
in  its  discretion  and  for  good  cause  shown,  allow  changes 
upon  less  than  the  notice  specified,  or  modify  the  require- 
ments of  Section  6  in  respect  to  publishing,  posting,  and 
filing  of  tariffs,  either  in  particular  instances  or  by  a  gen- 
eral order  applicable  to  special  circumstances.  While  the 
Act  authorizes  the  Commission  in  its  discretion  and  for 
good  cause  shown  to  permit  changes  in  tariffs  or  fares  on 
less  than  statutory  notice,  the  Commission  seeks  to  limit 
the  exercise  of  this  discretionary  power  to  cases  where 
actual  emergency  and  real  merit  are  shown.  The  power 
is  not  to  be  lightly  regarded,  and  it  will  not  be  exercised 
to  aid  a  carrier  in  any  strategic  endeavor  or  to  aid  ship- 
pers in  any  ordinary  commercial  exigency. 

Since  the  Commission  has  no  jurisdiction  over  ocean 
carriers,  the  "joint  rate"  referred  to  in  Section  6  of  the 
Act  relating  to  the  publishing  of  rates  does  not  apply  to 
the  combined  rates  on  shipments  from  United  States 
inland  points  through  seaports  via  ocean  carriers  to  for- 
eign points.  To  permit  the  making  of  joint  rates,  in  the 
strict  sense,  between  such  points,  would  open  the  way  for 
rebates  and  other  discriminatory  practices.  This  is  due 
to  the  fact  that  in  publishing  a  joint  rate  under  Section  6 
the  carriers  are  not  compelled  to  publish  their  divisions 
of  the  same,  and  hence,  by  a  manipulation  of  divisions, 
the  ocean  carriers  might  obtain  an  inequitable  portion 
thereof  wherewith  to  " induce' '  traffic.  On  such  traffic, 
therefore,  the  rail  carriers  must  publish  their  rates  from 
inland  points  to  seaports. 

Section  6  also  provides  that  the  names  of  the  several 
carriers  which  are  parties  to  any  joint  tariff  shall  be 
specified  therein,  and  each  of  the  parties  thereto,  other 


SECTION  6  76 

than  the  one  filing  the  same,  shall  file  with  the  Commis- 
sion such  evidence  of  concurrence  therein  or  acceptance 
thereof  as  may  be  required  or  approved  by  the  Commis- 
sion. Where  such  evidence  is  filed  it  shall  not  be  neces- 
sary for  the  carriers  filing  the  same  also  to  file  copies  of 
the  tariffs  in  which  they  are  named  as  parties.  If  a 
carrier  publishes  a  tariff  showing  that  it  can  make  deliv- 
ery on  the  tracks  of  a  carrier  from  which  it  has  not 
obtained  concurrences,  it  is  liable  in  damages  for  such 
erroneous  publication.  A  carrier  has  no  right  to  publish 
a  through  rate  unless  all  the  carriers  over  that  route  have 
concurred  or  under  an  order  of  the  Commission  com- 
pelling such  publication  and  joint  action.7 

Special  contracts. — Every  common  carrier  subject  to 
the  Act  must  also  file  with  the  Commission  copies  of  all 
contracts,  agreements,  or  arrangements  with  other  com- 
mon carriers  in  relation  to  any  traffic  in  which  it  partici- 
pates which  comes  under  the  provisions  of  the  Act. 

The  Act  provides  that  the  Commission  may  determine 
and  prescribe  the  form  in  which  the  schedules  to  be  kept 
open  to  public  inspection  shall  be  prepared  and  ar- 
ranged, and  that  it  may  at  its  discretion  change  the  form 
from  time  to  time. 

Section  6  also  sets  forth  that,  unless  otherwise  provided 
by  the  Act,  no  carrier  shall  engage  or  participate  in  the 
transportation  of  passengers  or  property,  unless  the 
rates,  fares,  and  charges  upon  which  the  same  are  trans- 
ported shall  have  been  filed  and  published  in  accordance 
with  the  provisions  of  the  Act;  nor  shall  any  carrier 
charge,  demand,  collect,  or  receive  a  greater  or  less  or 
different  compensation  for  such  transportation  of  passen- 
gers or  property,  or  for  any  service  in  connection  there- 
with, between  the  points  named  in  such  tariffs  than  the 

The  different  kinds  of  concurrences  are  explained  in  "Publication 
and  Filing  of  Tariffs." 


76  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

rates,  fares,  and  charges  which  are  specified  in  the  tariff 
filed  and  in  effect  at  the  time.  Nor  shall  any  carrier  re- 
fund or  remit  in  any  manner  or  by  any  device  any  portion 
of  the  rates,  fares,  and  charges  so  specified,  or  extend  to 
any  shipper  or  person  any  privileges  or  facilities  in  the 
transportation  of  passengers  or  property,  except  such  as 
are  specified  in  such  tariffs. 

In  time  of  actual  or  threatened  war,  precedence  shall, 
upon  the  demand  of  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
be  given,  over  all  other  traffic,  to  the  transportation  of 
troops  and  material  of  war,  and  carriers  shall  adopt  every 
means  within  their  control  to  facilitate  and  expedite  the 
military  traffic. 

The  Commission  may  reject  and  refuse  to  file  any 
schedule  tendered  for  filing  that  does  not  provide  and 
give  lawful  notice  of  its  effective  date.  Any  schedule  so 
rejected  by  the  Commission  is  void  and  its  use  unlawful. 

In  case  of  failure  or  refusal  on  the  part  of  any  carrier, 
receiver,  or  trustee  to  comply  with  the  terms  of  any  regu- 
lation adopted  and  promulgated  or  any  order  made  by 
the  Commission  under  the  provisions  of  Section  6,  such 
carrier,  receiver,  or  trustee  shall  be  liable  to  a  penalty 
of  $500  for  each  such  offense,  and  $25  for  each  and  every 
day  of  the  continuance  of  such  offense,  which  shall  accrue 
to  the  United  States  and  may  be  recovered  in  a  civil 
action  brought  by  the  United  States. 

If  any  common  carrier  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this 
Act,  which,  after  written  request  made  upon  the  agent  of 
such  carrier,  by  any  person  or  company,  for  a  written 
statement  of  the  rate  applicable  to  a  described  shipment, 
shall  refuse  or  omit  to  give  such  written  statement  within 
a  reasonable  time,  or  shall  misstate  in  writing  the  ap- 
plicable rate,  such  carrier  is  liable  to  a  penalty  of  $250, 
which  shall  accrue  to  the  United  States  and  may  be  re- 
covered in  a  civil  action  brought  by  the  United  States; 


SECTION  6  77 

provided,  the  person  or  company  making  such  request 
suffers  damage  in  consequence  of  such  refusal  or  omis- 
sion or  in  consequence  of  the  misstatement  of  the  rate, 
either  through  making  the  shipment  over  a  line  or  route 
for  which  the  proper  rate  is  higher  than  the  rate  over 
another  available  line  or  route,  or  through  entering  into 
any  sale  or  other  contract  whereunder  such  person  or 
company  obligates  himself  or  itself  to  make  such  ship- 
ment of  freight  at  his  or  its  cost. 

The  Panama  Canal  Act  has  also  amended  Section  6  to 
the  effect  that  when  property  is  transported  from  one 
point  in  the  United  States  to  another  by  rail  and  water 
through  the  Panama  Canal  or  otherwise,  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Commission  shall  have  jurisdiction  over  such 
transportation  and  over  the  carriers,  both  by  rail  and  by 
water.  It  is  also  given  power  to  establish  physical  con- 
nection between  the  line  of  the  rail  carrier  and  the  dock 
of  the  water  carrier,  by  directing  the  rail  carrier  to  make 
suitable  connection  between  its  line  and  tracks  which  may 
have  been  constructed  from  the  docks  to  its  right  of  way, 
or  by  directing  either  or  both  the  rail  and  the  water  car- 
rier to  construct  and  connect  with  the  railroad  a  spur 
track  or  tracks  to  the  dock.  The  connection  is  only  to 
be  made  where  reasonably  practicable  and  where  the 
amount  of  business  to  be  handled  is  sufficient  to  justify 
the  outlay.  The  Commission  is  given  full  authority  to 
determine  the  conditions  upon  which  these  connecting 
tracks  shall  be  operated  and  what  sum  shall  be  paid 
either  for  the  construction  or  operation.  The  Commis- 
sion is  also  given  power  to  establish  through  routes  and 
joint  rates  between  and  over  those  of  the  rail-and-water 
lines  and  to  establish  maximum  proportional  rates  by  rail 
to  and  from  the  ports  to  which  the  traffic  is  brought  or 
from  which  it  is  taken  by  the  water  carrier.  It  further 
provides  that  if  any  rail  carrier  enters  into  any  arrange- 


78  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

ment  with  any  water  carrier  operating  from  a  port  in  the 
United  States  to  a  foreign  country  through  the  Panama 
Canal,  or  otherwise,  for  the  handling  of  through  business 
between  interior  points  in  the  United  States  and  such  for- 
eign country,  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  may 
require  such  railway  to  enter  into  similar  arrangements 
with  any  or  all  other  steamships  operating  from  such  port 
to  the  same  foreign  country. 


SECTION  7 

Continuous  carriage. — Section  7  provides  that  it  shall 
be  unlawful  for  any  common  carrier  by  any  means  to  pre- 
vent the  carriage  of  freights  from  being  continuous  from 
the  place  of  shipment  to  the  place  of  destination.  It  fur- 
ther states  that  no  break  of  bulk,  stoppage,  or  interrup- 
tion made  by  any  carrier  shall  prevent  the  carriage  of 
freights  from  being  treated  as  one  continuous  carriage 
from  the  place  of  shipment  to  the  place  of  destination, 
unless  such  break,  stoppage,  or  interruption  was  made  in 
good  faith  for  some  necessary  purpose,  and  without  any 
intent  to  avoid  or  interrupt  unnecessarily  such  continu- 
ous carriage  or  to  invade  any  of  the  provisions  of  the  Act. 

While  the  meaning  of  this  section  is  probably  entirely 
clear,  it  may  assist  in  understanding  it  to  suppose  that  a 
carrier  might  intentionally  delay  shipments  for  its  own 
purposes.  This  section  does  not,  of  course,  undertake  to 
provide  that  necessary  delays  such  as  congestion  of 
traffic,  breakdowns  of  equipment,  or  other  causes  for  de- 
lays may  be  considered  as  a  violation  of  the  Act. 


79 


SECTION  8 

Attorney's  fees. — Section  8  provides  that  in  case  any 
carrier  shall  do,  cause  to  be  done,  or  permit  to  be  done, 
any  act,  matter,  or  thing  prohibited  or  declared  to  be 
unlawful,  or  shall  omit  to  do  any  act,  matter,  or  thing 
required  to  be  done  by  the  Act,  such  common  carrier 
shall  be  liable  to  the  person  or  persons  injured  for  the 
full  amount  of  damages  sustained,  together  with  a  rea- 
sonable counsel  or  attorney's  fee,  to  be  fixed  by  the  court 
in  every  case  of  recovery,  which  attorney's  fee  shall  be 
taxed  and  collected  as  part  of  the  costs  in  the  case. 

It  has  been  held  that  this  section  of  the  Act  is  constitu- 
tional. The  attorney's  fee  which  is  recoverable,  however, 
must  be  incurred  in  an  action  brought  in  a  court  for  vio- 
lation of  the  Act.  It  cannot  be  recovered  in  an  action 
before  the  Commission. 

Neither  can  it  be  recovered  in  a  court  where  the  suit 
brought  is  to  recover  for  loss  or  damage  to  goods.  This 
is  because  the  Act  does  not  oblige  carriers  to  carry  safely. 
The  fact  that  a  carrier  loses  or  damages  goods  is  not  a 
violation  of  the  Act. 


80 


SECTION  9 

Actions  at  law. — Section  9  provides  that  any  person 
or  persons  claiming  to  be  damaged  by  any  carrier  subject 
to  the  Act  either  may  make  complaint  to  the  Commission 
or  may  bring  suit  in  any  district  court  of  the  United 
States.  They  shall  not,  however,  have  the  right  to  pursue 
both  of  such  remedies.  One  of  the  two  methods  of  pro- 
cedure must  be  chosen. 

Same  subject:  Witnesses. — The  section  further  pro- 
vides that  in  any  such  action  brought  for  the  recovery 
of  damages,  the  court  before  which  the  same  shall  be 
pending  may  compel  any  director,  officer,  receiver, 
trustee,  or  agent  of  the  corporation  or  company  defend- 
ant in  such  suit  to  attend,  appear,  and  testify  in  such 
case.  It  may  also  order  the  production  of  the  books  and 
papers  of  such  party  to  any  such  suit;  and  the  claim  that 
any  such  testimony  or  evidence  may  tend  to  criminate  the 
witness  shall  not  excuse  him  from  testifying.  Such  evi- 
dence or  testimony,  however,  shall  not  be  used  against 
him  in  any  criminal  proceeding. 

The  Commission  has  no  authority  under  the  Act  as 
amended  to  require  witnesses  to  answer  any  question  it 
chooses  to  ask  in  an  investigation  instituted  by  it  for 
the  purpose  of  discovering  any  facts  tending  to  defeat 
the  purpose  of  the  Act,  or  for  the  purpose  of  recommend- 
ing additional  legislation  relating  to  the  regulation  of 
commerce  that  it  may  conceive  to  be  within  the  power 
of  Congress  to  enact.  The  purposes  for  which  it  may 
exact  evidence  embrace  only  complaints  for  violations 
of  the  Act. 

81 


SECTION  10 

Penalties. — Section  10  provides  that  any  common  car- 
rier, any  director  or  officer  thereof,  or  any  receiver, 
trustee,  lessee,  agent,  or  person  acting  for  or  employed  by 
it,  who,  alone  or  with  any  confederate,  shall  willfully  do, 
permit,  or  cause  to  be  done,  anything  prohibited  by  the 
Act,  or  who  shall  aid  therein  or  omit  to  perform  any  duty 
required  by  the  Act,  or  shall  be  guilty  of  any  infraction 
of  the  Act  for  which  no  penalty  is  otherwise  provided, 
shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  be  subject 
to  a  fine  not  to  exceed  $5,000  for  each  offense.  If  the 
offense  for  which  any  person  shall  be  convicted  shall  be 
an  unlawful  discrimination  in  rates,  fares,  or  charges  for 
the  transportation  of  passengers  or  property,  in  addition 
to  the  fine  provided  for,  the  offender  shall  be  liable  to 
imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  for  a  term  of  not  ex- 
ceeding two  years,  or  both  such  fine  and  imprisonment, 
in  the  discretion  of  the  court. 

The  following  are  instances  of  criminal  offenses  under 
the  Act.  The  Union  Stock  Yard  &  Transit  Company, 
Chicago,  Illinois,  made  a  contract  with  Pfaelzers  &  Sons, 
packers,  by  which  it  agreed  to  pay  the  latter  $50,000  if 
they  would  build  and  maintain  their  plant  adjacent  to 
the  yards  of  the  Stock  Yard  Company.  The  only  interest 
which  the  Stock  Yard  Company  had  in  Pfaelzers  &  Sons 
was  the  compensation  for  its  service  in  handling  their 
freight  accruing  to  it  through  the  Junction  Railroad 
Company,  which  was  owned  by  the  same  holding  com- 
pany as  the  Stock  Yard  Company.  It  was  held  that  as 
the  Stock  Yard  Company  and  the  Junction  Railroad 
Company  were  common  carriers  engaged  in  interstate 

82 


SECTION  10  83 

commerce,  the  contract  was  illegal  as  charging  less  than 
the  published  rates  and  granting  rebates  in  violation  of 
Section  2  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act  and  Section  2 
of  the  Elkins  Act.1 

It  further  provides  that  whenever  anyone  shall,  by 
means  of  false  billing,  false  classification,  false  weighing, 
or  false  report  of  weight,  or  by  any  other  device  or 
means,  permit  or  secure  transportation  for  property  at 
less  than  the  regular  rates,  it  will  constitute  a  misde- 
meanor punishable  by  a  fine  of  not  exceeding  $5,000,  or 
imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  for  a  term  of  not  ex- 
ceeding two  years,  or  both. 

A  shipper  as  well  as  a  carrier  may  be  guilty  of  a  crim- 
inal offense.  Thus,  defendant  shipper  made  a  contract 
with  a  carrier  for  the  transportation  of  goods  for  export 
from  Kansas  City  to  New  York  City  at  the  published 
rate.  Shortly  thereafter,  the  carrier  raised  its  rates,  and 
subsequent  to  this  raise  the  shipper  transported  the 
goods  to  New  York  City  at  the  rate  contracted  for.  It 
was  held  that  the  shipper  was  guilty,  under  the  Elkins 
Act,  of  the  crime  of  receiving  a  rebate  whereby  property 
was  transported  at  less  than  the  published  rate.  If  the 
shipper  sees  fit  to  make  a  contract  covering  a  definite 
period  for  a  rate  in  force  at  the  time,  he  must  be  taken 
to  have  done  so  subject  to  the  possible  change  of  the 
published  rate  in  the  manner  fixed  by  the  statute,  to 
which  he  must  conform  or  suffer  the  penalty  fixed  by  law. 
(Brewer  J.,  dissenting.)2 

Anyone  who  shall  deliver  property  for  transportation 
to  any  common  carrier  subject  to  the  provisions  of  the 
Act,  or  for  whom,  as  consignor  or  consignee,  any  such 
carrier  shall  transport  property,  who  shall  knowingly,  by 

XU.  S.  v.  Union  Stock  Yard  &  Transit  Co.,  83  Sup.  Ct.  83,  89. 
•Armour  Packing  Co.  v.  U.  S.,  209  U.  S.  56,  82;  28  Sup.  Ct  428; 
209  U.  S.  90;  28  Sup.  Ct.  489;  52  L.  Ed.  698. 


84  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

false  billing,  etc.,  obtain  transportation  for  less  than  the 
regular  published  rates  applicable,  shall  be  subject  to  a 
fine  of  not  exceeding  $5,000,  or  imprisonment  of  not  more 
than  two  years,  or  both. 

There  are  a  great  variety  of  ways  in  which  the  ship- 
per may  be  liable  for  violations  of  this  section.  A  few 
examples  will  help  to  show  how  these  attempts  to  de- 
fraud the  legal  rates  may  be  brought  about. 

A  shipper  may  describe  an  article  which  is  provided 
with  a  first-class  rate  in  such  a  way  as  to  secure  a 
fourth-class  rate,  and  thus  save  the  difference  between 
the  two  rates.  Shippers  sometimes  show  the  weight  of 
the  contents  of  packages  rather  than  the  weight  of  the 
contents  plus  the  weight  of  the  packages  themselves.  A 
very  common  form  of  attempt  to  defraud  the  carriers  is 
by  stating  false  weights  on  carloads.  If  a  carrier  de- 
pends upon  the  shipper's  weight,  the  shipper  may  save 
the  freight  on  a  thousand  pounds  or  more. 

A  number  of  prosecutions  for  these  fraudulent  prac- 
tices have  taken  place  within  the  last  two  years,  very 
severe  penalties  having  been  imposed  in  some  cases. 


SECTION  11 

The  Interstate  Commerce  Commission.— While  Section 
11  creates  a  commission  to  be  known  as  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Commission,  composed  of  five  Commissioners, 
who  shall  be  appointed  by  the  President,  by  and  with  the 
advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  and  this  section  has  not 
been  expressly  repealed,  under  Section  24  the  Commis- 
sion is  enlarged  to  seven  members,  no  more  than  four  of 
whom  can  be  from  the  same  political  party. 

Their  terms,  under  Section  11,  were  for  six  years,  but 
Section  24  makes  their  terms  seven  years.  But  any  per- 
son chosen  to  fill  a  vacancy  shall  be  appointed  only  for 
the  unexpired  time  of  the  Commissioner  whom  he  suc- 
ceeds. Any  Commissioner  may  be  removed  by  the  Presi- 
dent for  inefficiency,  neglect  of  duty,  or  malfeasance  in 
office. 

No  person  in  the  employ  of  or  holding  any  official  re- 
lation to  any  common  carrier  subject  to  the  provisions 
of  the  Act,  or  owning  stock  or  bonds  thereof,  or  who  is 
in  any  manner  pecuniarily  interested  therein,  shall  enter 
upon  the  duties  of  or  hold  such  office.  The  Commission- 
ers must  not  engage  in  any  other  business,  vocation,  or 
employment.  No  vacancy  in  the  Commission  shall  im- 
pair the  right  of  the  remaining  Commissioners  to  exer- 
cise all  the  powers  of  the  Commission. 


85 


SECTION  12 

Powers  of  Commission. — Section  12  provides  that  the 
Commission  shall  have  authority  to*  inquire  into  the  man- 
agement of  the  business  of  all  common  carriers  subject 
to  the  provisions  of  the  Act,  and  shall  keep  itself  in- 
formed as  to  the  manner  and  method  in  which  the  same 
is  conducted.  It  shall  have  the  right  to  obtain  from  such 
common  carriers  full  and  complete  information  neces- 
sary to  enable  it  to  perform  the  duties  and  carry  out  the 
objects  for  which  it  was  created. 

Upon  the  request  of  the  Commission,  it  is  made  the 
duty  of  any  United  States  district  attorney  to  whom  the 
Commission  may  apply  to  institute  and  prosecute  under 
the  direction  of  the  Attorney-General  of  the  United 
States  all  necessary  proceedings  for  the  enforcement  of 
the  provisions  of  the  Act  and  for  the  punishment  of  all 
violations  thereof.  For  the  purpose  of  the  Act  the  Com- 
mission is  also  given  the  power  to  require,  by  subpoena, 
the  attendance  and  testimony  of  witnesses  and  the  pro- 
duction of  all  books,  papers,  tariffs,  contracts,  agree- 
ments, and  documents  relating  to  any  matter  under  in- 
vestigation, from  any  place  in  the  United  States. 


86 


SECTION  13 

Parties  to  complaints.— Section  13  provides  that  any 
person,  firm,  corporation,  company,  or  association,  or  any 
mercantile,  agricultural,  or  manufacturing  society,  or 
other  organization,  or  any  body  politic  or  municipal  or- 
ganization, or  any  common  carrier,  complaining  of  any- 
thing done  or  omitted  to  be  done  by  any  common  carrier 
subject  to  the  provisions  of  the  Act,  may  apply  to  the 
Commission  by  petition,  which  shall  briefly  state  the 
facts.  Thereupon,  a  statement  of  the  complaint  so  made 
must  be  forwarded  by  the  Commission  to  such  common 
carrier,  who  shall  be  called  upon  to  satisfy  the  complaint, 
or  to  answer  the  same  in  writing,  within  a  reasonable 
time  specified  by  the  Commission.  If  such  common  car- 
rier within  the  time  specified  shall  make  reparation  for 
the  injury  alleged  to  have  been  done,  it  shall  be  relieved 
of  liability  to  the  complainant  only  for  the  particular  vio- 
lation of  law  thus  complained  of.  If  it  does  not  satisfy 
the  complaint  within  the  time  specified,  or  there  shall 
appear  to  be  any  reasonable  ground  for  investigating  the 
complaint,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Commission  to  in- 
vestigate the  matters  complained  of. 

The  Commission  is  also  given  power  to  investigate  any 
complaint  forwarded  by  the  railroad  commission  of  any 
state  or  territory  alleging  a  violation  of  the  Act,  and 
also  has  full  authority  at  any  time  to  institute  an 
inquiry,  on  its  own  motion,  in  any  matter  concern- 
ing which  a  complaint  is  authorized  to  be  made, 
or  concerning  which  any  question  may  arise  under  any  of 
the  provisions  of  the  Act,  or  relating  to  the  enforcement 
of  any  of  the  provisions  of  the  Act.    The  Commission  has 

87 


88  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

the  same  powers  and  authority  to  proceed  with  any  in- 
quiry instituted  on  its  own  motion  as  though  it  had  been 
appealed  to  by  complaint  or  petition  under  any  of  the  pro- 
visions of  the  Act,  including  the  power  to  make  and 
enforce  any  order  or  orders  or  relating  to  the  matter  or 
thing  concerning  which  the  inquiry  is  had,  excepting  or- 
ders for  the  payment  of  money.  An  important  provision 
is  that  no  complaint  can  at  any  time  be  dismissed  because 
of  the  absence  of  direct  damage  to  the  complainant. 


SECTION  14 

Reports  of  the  Commission. — Section  14  provides  that 
whenever  an  investigation  shall  be  made  by  the  Com- 
mission, it  is  its  dnty  to  make  a  report  in  writing  in 
respect  thereto,  which  shall  state  its  conclusions,  together 
with  its  order  in  the  matter. 

The  reports  required  by  this  section  contain  all  the  es- 
sential facts  developed  by  the  Commission  from  its  in- 
vestigation, and  also  its  order  as  to  how  the  conditions 
investigated  are  to  be  changed  if  it  finds  that  a  change  is 
required. 


89 


SECTION  15 

Importance  of  Section  15. — This  section  is  the  dom- 
inating and  controlling  expression  of  the  real  object  and 
meaning  of  the  Act.  It  makes  the  Commission  a  special 
expert  body  to  deal  with  rates  and  principles  affecting 
rates,  not  a  body  to  take  the  place  of  Congress.  The 
Commission  has  no  jurisdiction  to  say  what  shall  be  done 
as  a  matter  of  public  policy  except  in  so  far  as  the  public 
will  almost  always  be  considered  in  exercising  its  author- 
ity under  the  Act.  Its  duty  with  respect  to  rates  is  to 
inquire  whether  or  not  they  are  in  accordance  with  the 
requirements  of  the  Act. 

The  Commission,  in  passing  upon  the  reasonableness 
or  unreasonableness  of  a  rate,  acts  as  an  administrative 
body  having  quasi-judicial1  functions.  When  it  deter- 
mines what  the  rate  should  have  been  and  shall  be  in  the 
future,  it  exercises  certain  legislative  functions.  When  it 
computes  the  damages  or  reparation  due  the  shipper  by 
reason  of  the  enforcement  and  collection  of  the  rate,  un- 
reasonable to  the  extent  that  it  exceeds  a  rate  that  is  de- 
clared to  be  reasonable,  there  is  a  mere  mathematical 
determination  of  the  damages  the  shipper  should  receive. 
On  account  of  the  extreme  importance  of  this  section  of 
the  Act,  the  powers  conferred  by  it  will  be  examined  in 
detail. 

Section  15  provides  that  whenever,  after  full  hearing 
upon  a  complaint  made  as  provided  in  Section  13  of  this 
Act,  or  after  full  hearing  under  an  order  for  investigation 
and  hearing  made  by  the  Commission  on  its  own  initia- 

Tartly  judicial. 

90 


SECTION  15  91 

tive,  it  shall  be  of  the  opinion  that  any  individual  or  joint 
rates  or  charges  charged  by  any  common  carrier  subject 
to  the  Act,  or  that  any  individual  or  joint  classifications, 
regulations,  or  practices  whatsoever,  are  unreasonable, 
unjustly  discriminatory,  or  unduly  preferential,  it  is  em- 
powered to  determine  and  prescribe  how  the  conditions 
are  to  be  adjusted.  It  is  also  empowered  to  determine 
what  individual  or  joint  classification,  regulation,  or 
practice  is  just,  fair,  and  reasonable,  to  be  thereafter  fol- 
lowed, and  to  make  an  order  that  the  carrier  or  carriers 
shall  discontinue  such  violation  to  the  extent  to  which  the 
Commission  finds  the  same  to  exist. 

All  orders  of  the  Commission,  except  orders  for  the 
payment  of  money,  shall  take  effect  within  a  reasonable 
time,  not  less  than  thirty  days,  and  shall  continue  in 
force  for  such  period  of  time,  not  exceeding  two  years, 
as  shall  be  prescribed  in  the  order  of  the  Commission, 
unless  the  same  be  suspended,  modified,  or  set  aside  by 
the  Commission  or  by  a  court  of  competent  jurisdiction. 

The  foregoing  sections,  which  have  been  briefly  sum- 
marized, deal  with  the  general  jurisdiction  of  the  Com- 
mission and  the  procedure  to  be  adopted  in  bringing 
cases  to  the  attention  of  the  Commission.  There  is  no 
section  of  the  Act  more  important  than  this,  and  the 
reader  should  give  it  close  and  careful  attention.  We 
will  now  proceed  to  consider  it  somewhat  in  detail. 

It  may  be  well  to  direct  the  attention  of  the  reader  to 
the  fact  that  in  reading  the  decisions  he  will  often  find 
references  to  the  United  States  Commerce,  circuit,  and 
district  courts.  These  courts,  of  equal  jurisdiction,  for- 
merly existed,  but  the  circuit  and  Commerce  courts  are 
now  abolished,  and  all  pending  actions  in  them  are  trans- 
ferred to  the  district  court. 


92  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

1.    Jurisdiction  of  Commission 

In  general. — When  a  subject  requires  legislation  for 
the  regulation  of  future  conduct,  but  the  objects  of  the 
legislation  are  so  many  and  of  such  different  natures  that 
they  cannot  be  distinctly  treated  in  the  ordinary  terms  of 
legislative  classification,  it  is  not  unusual  to  prescribe 
general  rules,  if  such  do  not  already  exist,  and  delegate 
the  power  to  apply  those  rules  to  the  varying  circum- 
stances which  may  arise.  The  necessity  of  legislation 
in  such  form  justifies  its  adoption  and  it  is  not  obnoxious 
to  the  Constitution  as  a  delegation  of  legislative  power. 
Hence,  the  powers  delegated  to  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission  may  be  exercised,  subject  to  the  restrictions 
in  the  Act  and  in  the  Constitution.  The  outlook  of  the 
Commission  and  its  powers  must  comprehend  all  inter- 
ests subject  to  the  Act. 

Primary  jurisdiction.— The  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mission alone  has  original  jurisdiction  to  determine 
whether  an  existing  rate  schedule,  an  existing  regulation 
or  practice  affecting  rates,  or  an  existing  regulation  or 
practice  of  any  other  kind  affecting  matters  sought  to  be 
regulated  by  the  Act,  is  unjust,  unreasonable,  unfairly 
discriminatory,  or  unduly  prejudicial.  Its  jurisdic- 
tion is  primary  in  matters  of  unjust  discrimination, 
undue  or  unreasonable  prejudice  or  disadvantage, 
and,  generally,  in  all  cases  where  the  Commission  may 
order  the  carrier  to  desist  from  violations  of  the  Act. 
However,  relief  from  excessive  freight  charges  upon  in- 
terstate shipments,  where  the  charges  are  made  according 
to  established  rates  fixed  and  promulgated  as  required  by 
the  Interstate  Commerce  Act,  must  'be  sought  only 
through  the  Commission.2 

aA.  T.  &  S.  F.  Ry.  Co.  v.  Superior  Refining  Co.,  83  Kan.  732,  734; 
112  P.  604. 


SECTION  15  93 

A  United  States  district  court  has  no  jurisdiction  to 
enjoin  the  putting  into  effect  of  a  schedule  of  interstate 
rates  without  prior  application  to  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Commission,  because  that  body  is  vested  with  ex- 
clusive jurisdiction  over  questions  of  the  reasonableness 
of  interstate  rates  under  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act  as 
amended.  Under  the  provisions  of  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Act  no  court  has  any  power,  in  the  first  instance, 
to  inquire  into  the. reasonableness  of  any  rate  that  has 
been  regularly  established  by  a  railway  company  and 
filed  with  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  and  pub- 
lished by  posting.  The  question  of  whether  or  not  a  rate 
is  reasonable  and  just  is  one  to  be  determined,  in  the  first 
instance,  in  a  proper  proceeding  before  the  Commission. 

Thus,  where  the  legal  quality  of  the  practice  com- 
plained of  is  not  definitely  fixed  by  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Act,  so  that  an  allowance,  otherwise  permissible, 
is  lawful  or  unlawful  according  as  it  is  reasonable  or  un- 
reasonable, an  action  by  a  shipper  for  damages,  alleged 
to  have  arisen  from  the  granting  of  the  allowance  to 
competitors,  cannot  be  maintained  in  the  courts  until  the 
Commission  has  passed  upon  the  reasonableness  or  unrea- 
sonableness of  such  allowance.3 

Although  the  Commission  may  have  found  in  other 
cases,  between  other  shippers  and  defendant  carrier,  that 
it  is  unlawful  for  carriers  to  require  billing  of  shipments 
to  ultimate  destination  in  order  to  secure  the  benefit  of 
through  rates  and  transit  privileges,  a  shipper  seeking 
reparation  for  the  violation  of  this  ruling  by  a  carrier 
must  first  apply  to  the  Commission,  as  the  case  is  not 
one  of  those  which  under  Section  9  may  be  brought  orig- 
inally either  before  the  Commission  or  the  courts.4 

"Mitchell  Coal  &  Coke  Co.  v.  Penn.  R.  R.  Co.,  230  U.  S.  247. 
♦National  Pole  Co.  v.  C.  &  N.  W.  Ry.  Co.,  200  Fed.  185,  188. 


94  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

The  design  of  the  Act  is  not  only  to  have  the  Commis- 
sion pass  primarily  upon  the  questions  involved  in  a  par- 
ticular rate  or  practice,  but,  as  an  administrative  body, 
to  pass  upon  all  claims  arising  under  such  rate  or  prac- 
tice, to  the  end  that  it,  as  such  body,  may  make  in  each 
case  appropriate  order  for  reparation.  The  Act  was  in- 
tended by  Congress  to  afford  an  effective  and  compre- 
hensive means  for  redressing  wrongs  resulting  from 
unjust  discrimination  and  undue  preferences  by  carriers. 

It  evinces  a  clear  purpose  to  require  shippers  seeking 
reparation  predicated  upon  the  unreasonableness  of  a 
published  rate  primarily  to  invoke  redress  through  the 
Commission,  which  alone  is  vested  with  power  to  enter- 
tain original  proceedings  for  the  alteration  of  such  estab- 
lished schedule,  notwithstanding  that  Sections  9  and  22 
of  the  Act  seemingly  give  the  aggrieved  party  the  option 
of  originally  bringing  suit  in  the  district  court  to  recover 
damages  for  violation  of  the  provisions  of  the  Act.5 

Finality  of  Commission's  findings. — The  orders  of  the 
Commission  are  final  unless  (1)  beyond  the  power  that 
it  can  constitutionally  exercise,  (2)  beyond  its  statutory 
power,  or  (3)  based  upon  a  mistake  of  law.6 

In  decisions  of  the  Commission  questions  of  fact  may 
be  involved  in  the  determination  of  questions  of  law,  so 
that  an  order,  regular  on  its  face,  may  be  set  aside  (1)  if 
it  appears  that  the  rate  is  so  low  as  to  be  confiscatory  and 
in  violation  of  the  constitutional  prohibition  against  tak- 
ing property  without  due  process  of  law,  (2)  if  the  Com- 
mission acts  so  arbitrarily  and  unjustly  as  to  fix  rates 
contrary  to  evidence  or  without  evidence  to  support  its 
decree,  or  (3)  if  the  authority  therein  involved  has  been 

'American  Sugar  Refining  Co.  v.  D.  L.  &  W.  Ry.  Co.,  200  Fed.  652, 
654. 

•I.  C.  C.  v.  U.  P.  R.  R.  Co.,  222  U.  S.  541,  547;  32  Sup.  Ct.  108; 
56  L.  Ed.  308. 


SECTION  15  95 

exercised  in  so  unreasonable  a  manner  as  to  cause  it  to  be 
within  the  elementary  rule  that  the  substance,  and  not 
the  shadow,  determines  the  validity  of  the  exercise  of  the 
power. 

Neither  is  it  for  the  Commerce  Court  to  say  whether 
the  Commission  has  properly  attached  great  or  little 
weight  to  evidence  adduced  upon  a  given  point,  or 
whether  the  conclusion  reached  by  the  Commission  upon 
testimony  as  to  facts  alone  shows  a  mistake  as  to  some 
particular  fact  not  essential  or  vital  to  the  proceeding,  or 
an  inadvertency,  or  is  not  such  a  conclusion  as  the  Com- 
merce Court  might  have  reached.  If  the  particular  mat- 
ter in  issue  and  inquired  into  was  one  of  fact  and  a  full 
hearing  was  afforded  and  the  conclusion  reached  is  sup- 
ported by  substantial  evidence,  it  will  not  be  nullified  by 
the  courts.7 

While  the  courts  will  not  review  the  Commission's  con- 
clusion, holding  rates  unreasonable,  by  passing  upon  the 
credibility  of  witnesses  or  conflicts  in  testimony,  the  legal 
effect  of  evidence  is  a  question  of  law,  and  an  order  based 
on  no  substantial  evidence  is  contrary  to  law  and  must 
be  set  aside  by  the  courts. 

Orders  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  find- 
ing an  allowance  unreasonable  or  discriminatory,  so  far 
as  they  are  administrative,  are  conclusive,  whether  they 
relate  to  past  or  present  rates,  and  can  be  given  general 
and  uniform  operation,  since  all  shippers  who  have  been 
or  may  be  affected  by  the  rate  can  take  advantage  of  the 
ruling  and  avail  themselves  of  the  reparation  order. 
They  are  quasi-judicial  and  only  prima  facie  correct,  in 
so  far  as  they  determine  the  fact  and  amount  of  damage. 
Since  it  involves  the  payment  of  money  and  the  taking 

7N.  &  W.  Ry.  Co.  v.  U.  S.,  195  Fed.  953,  959. 


96  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

of  property,  the  carrier  is,  by  Section  16  of  the  Act,  given 
its  day  in  court  and  the  right  to  a  judicial  hearing.8 

In  consideration  of  the  question  as  to  whether  a  single 
or  individual  rate  is  reasonable,  the  Commission  may, 
among  other  things,  consider  the  reports  of  the  finances 
of  the  carrier,  whose  rates  are  the  subject  of  investiga- 
tion, and  it  may  inquire  into  such  reports  and  the  items 
thereof,  into  circumstances  of  management,  the  carrier 's 
present  and  prospective  business,  operating  expenses, 
outstanding  obligations,  and  interest  charges,  whether 
the  rate  under  examination  appears  to  be  disproportion- 
ately or  unreasonably  high,  and  whether  all  traffic  ap- 
pears to  bear  a  proper  share  of  expenses  and  profits. 

In  a  coal  rate  case  there  was  evidence  before  the  Com- 
mission as  to  the  cost  of  transportation,  operating  ex- 
penses, interest,  depreciation,  other  rates  for  transport- 
ing coal,  markets,  allowances,  terminal  expenses,  the  life 
of  the  carrier,  and  other  conditions.  It  was  held  that  the 
order  reducing  rates  could  not  be  held  invalid  on  the 
ground  of  lack  of  evidence.9 

Jurisdiction  over  procedure — Under  Sections  12  and 
15,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Commission  may  make  investi- 
gations to  enable  the  Commission  to  perform  its  duty,  and 
may  inquire  into  the  intrastate  business  of  the  carriers, 
where  such  inquiry  is  essential,  to  know  the  true  condi- 
tion of  interstate  business.10  This  subject  will  be  exam- 
ined more  in  detail  under  Section  17. 

Jurisdiction  over  orders. — The  Commission  has  com- 
plete power  to  suspend  or  modify  its  orders.11 

Jurisdiction  over  capitalization. — The  Commission  is 
without  control  over  capitalization.    It  cannot  place  lim- 

'Mitchell  Coal  &  Coke  Co.  v.  Penn.  R.  R.  Co.,  33  Sup.  Ct.  916,  921 ; 
230  U   S  247 

BL.  V.  *R.  R.  Co.  v.  U.  S.,  204  Fed.  986,  993. 
"Goodrich  Transit  Co.  v.  I.  C.  C,  190  Fed.  943,  965. 
"Loftus  v.  Pullman  Co.,  19  I.  C.  C.  102,  104. 


SECTION  15  97 

itation  upon  the  purposes  for  which  stocks  or  bonds  may 
be  issued,  or  designate  what  property  they  shall  repre- 
sent.12 

Jurisdiction  over  interstate  rates. — The  making  of  a 
decision  as  to  reasonableness  of  rates  is  peculiarly  with- 
in the  province  of  the  Commission,  and  its  findings  are 
fortified  by  presumptions  of  truth.13  Not  only  is  the 
Commission  vested  with  a  discretion  in  determining  the 
reasonableness  of  rates  which  cannot  be  disturbed,  but  it 
is  entitled  to  select  the  testimony  which  it  will  believe  and 
rely  upon  according  as  it  addresses  itself  to  its  discrim- 
inating judgment.  It  may  not  condemn  an  existing  rate 
whenever  it  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  same  is  unjust  and 
unreasonable  merely  upon  the  expert  knowledge  and  ac- 
cumulated experience  of  its  members,  but  may  do  so  only 
upon  a  full  hearing,  at  which  the  carrier  is  given  an  op- 
portunity to  be  heard,  and  upon  investigation  by  the 
Commission  itself  of  the  lawfulness  of  the  rate  in  ques- 
tion and  upon  substantial  evidence  of  record  before  it. 

The  Commission,  in  an  investigation  of  rates,  may 
bring  to  the  solution  of  the  question  the  accumulated  ex- 
perience and  expert  knowledge  of  its  members,  and  it  is 
its  duty  to  do  so.  Before  an  existing  rate  may  be  con- 
demned, however,  there  must  be  a  finding  that  it  is  unjust 
and  unreasonable,  and  this  finding  must  be  based  upon 
evidence  of  which  the  carrier  is  apprised  so  that  it  may 
meet  the  case  brought  against  it  if  it  so  desires.  The 
courts  will  not  interfere  with  the  action  of  the  Commis- 
sion in  fixing  rates  except  upon  the  three  grounds  here- 
inbefore named.  Congress  did  not,  in  the  Act 
and  its  amendments,  intend  to  vest  administrative 
authority  in  the  courts  in  the  matter  of  fixing 
rates,  but,  on  the  contrary,  committed  the  power  to  the 

"Advances  in  Rates— Western  Case,  20  L  C.  C.  307,  334. 
"I.  C.  C.  v.  C.  R.  I.  &  P.  Ry.,  218  U.  S.  88,  110. 


98  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

Commission  and  imposed  on  it  the  duty  to  ascertain 
facts,  and,  in  view  of  such  facts,  to  determine  what  is  rea- 
sonable in  regard  to  rates  and  charges.  The  fixing  of  the 
rates  to  be  charged  by  public-service  corporations  is  a 
legislative  function,  and  when  Congress,  in  the  Act  as 
amended  June  29, 1906,  confers  upon  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Commission  the  power  to  determine  what  are  and 
what  should  be  reasonable  rates  to  be  charged  by  the  car- 
riers of  interstate  commerce,  its  action  in  the  premises 
is  conclusive  on  the  courts,  subject  to  the  limitations 
above  named. 

Under  Section  15  of  the  Act,  as  amended  by 
the  Hepburn  Act  of  June  29,  1906,  the  Commis- 
sion has  authority  to  order  a  railroad  so  to  ad- 
just its  rates  as  to  prevent  discrimination  against  a  ship- 
per without  prescribing  the  new  rates  to  be  applied  or 
specifying  how  the  charges  should  be  equalized.  Where 
there  is  a  very  considerable  mass  of  testimony  which  is 
believed  by  the  Commission  to  justify  it  in  finding  a  rate 
unreasonable,  and  it  appears  that  it  has  based  its  deci- 
sion on  such  testimony,  the  condition  precedent  to  the 
exercise  of  its  power  to  fix  reasonable  rates  has  been  met. 
Only  the  clearest  evidence  that  the  Commission  has  com- 
pletely misconceived  the  testimony  regarding  rates,  or 
willfully  disregarded  it,  can  sustain  in  court  the  charge 
of  an  arbitrary  or  unreasonable  discharge  of  the  statu- 
tory duties  imposed  upon  it.14 

Jurisdiction  over  intrastate  rates. — The  Commission 
has  no  authority  over  intrastate  rates,  although  a  local 
state  rate  that  is  a  part  of  a  combination  interstate  rate 
when  applied  to  interstate  commerce  is  within  its  juris- 
diction. But  it  cannot  order  a  reduction  of  intrastate 
rates ;  neither  has  it  jurisdiction  over  a  shipment  moving 

"A.  T.  &  S.  F.  Ry.  Co.  v.  U.  S.,  203  Fed.  56,  59. 


SECTION  15  99 

from  one  point  to  another  in  the  same  state,  although  it 
was  subsequently  rebilled  beyond  the  state. 

For  example,  where  cars  in  a  movement  from  Trav- 
erse City,  Michigan,  to  Horatio,  Arkansas,  are  billed  to 
Memphis,  Tennessee,  rebilled  to  Wynne,  Arkansas,  and 
there  received  by  the  shipper's  agent  and  rebilled  to  Ho- 
ratio, the  Commission  has  no  jurisdiction  over  the  rate 
from  Wynne  to  Horatio,  the  movement  being  intra- 
state.15 

However,  a  state  commission  has  no  right  to  compel 
such  an  adjustment  of  state  rates  as  will  discriminate 
against  an  interstate  rate  fabric.  In  this  connection,  the 
reader  should  refer  to  the  discussion  under  Section  1, 
page  14. 

Jurisdiction  over  suspension  of  rates. — Section  15 
also  provides  that  whenever  there  shall  be  filed  with  the 
Commission  any  schedule  stating  a  new  individual  or 
joint  rate,  fare,  or  charge,  or  any  new  regulation  or  prac- 
tice affecting  any  rate,  fare,  or  charge,  it  shall  have  au- 
thority at  once,  and  if  it  so  orders,  without  answer  or 
other  formal  pleading  by  the  interested  carrier  or  car- 
riers, but  upon  reasonable  notice,  to  enter  upon  a  hearing 
concerning  the  propriety  of  the  same.  Pending  the  hear- 
ing and  decision,  the  Commission,  upon  filing  with  such 
schedule  and  delivering  to  the  carriers  affected  a  state- 
ment in  writing  of  its  reasons,  may  suspend  the  opera- 
tion of  such  schedule  and  defer  the  use  of  such  rate,  fare, 
charge,  classification,  regulation,  or  practice,  but  not  for 
a  longer  period  than  one  hundred  and  twenty  days  be- 
yond the  time  when  it  would  otherwise  go  into  effect,  un- 
less it  cannot  complete  its  investigation  in  that  time.  In 
such  case,  six  months  longer  may  be  taken. 

The  Commission  is  not  empowered  to  suspend  the  op- 
eration of  a  schedule  after  it  has  gone  into  effect. 

"Wells-Higman  Co.  v.  St.  L.  I.  M.  &  S.  Ry.  Co.,  18  I.  C.  C.  175,  176. 


100  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

Jurisdiction  over  unpublished  rates. — Where  a  trans- 
portation service  has  been  rendered  for  which  no  tariff 
authority  whatever  exists,  and  the  shipper  has  paid  the 
sum  claimed  by  the  carrier  for  that  service,  the  Com- 
mission has  jurisdiction  to  determine  the  reasonable 
charge  for  the  service,  and  to  order  repayment  of  the 
amount  in  excess  thereof  collected  by  the  carrier.16 

Jurisdiction  to  award  damages. — The  Commission  has 
no  jurisdiction  to  award  damages  except  such  as  consti- 
tute the  difference  between  an  unreasonable  and  a  rea- 
sonable rate,  or  which  result  through  discrimination  or  a 
violation  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act  in  some  par- 
ticular. Depreciation  of  real  estate  values  and  loss  of 
tenants  are  damages  over  which  the  Commission  has  no 
jurisdiction.  The  Commission  has  no  jurisdiction  to  en- 
force the  specific  performance  of  a  contract  relating  to 
switch  connections,  or  to  award  damages  for  its  breach. 
The  Commission  has  no  authority  to  administer  a  rem- 
edy in  applications  for  relief  based  solely  upon  a  con- 
tractual relationship  between  the  parties. 

The  Commission  assumes  no  jurisdiction  over  such  sub- 
jects as  jolting,  prompt  settlement  of  damages,  and  polite 
treatment.  A  finding  of  general  damages  by  the  Com- 
mission would  be  mere  opinion,  not  enforceable  by  the 
Commission  or  binding  upon  the  courts,  to  which,  in  any 
event,  resort  must  be  had. 

In  a  typical  case,  a  Pittsburgh  commission  merchant 
charged  defendant  with  having  persistently  delayed  his 
carloads  of  fruit  at  yards  where  they  were  not  accessible 
to  teams  and  could  not  be  unloaded,  at  the  same  time  ac- 
cording to  other  shippers  prompt  service  in  placing  cars 
at  the  unloading  platform.  Complainant  asked  damages 
in  the  sum  of  $30,497.70  for   loss   entailed  upon  him 

"Maxwell  v.  W.  F.  &  N.  W.  Ry.  Co.,  20  I.  C.  C.  197,  198;  Golden- 
berg  v.  Clyde  S.  S.  Co.,  20  I.  C.  C.  527,  528. 


SECTION  15  101 

through  demurrage,  storage,  the  employment  of  addi- 
tional help,  and  loss  of  trade,  since  the  fruit  reached  him 
in  a  heated,  withered  condition.  It  was  held  that  the 
Commission  had  no  jurisdiction  to  award  damages  asked, 
the  case  being  one  for  the  courts;  and  that  breaches  of 
duty  by  a  carrier,  such  as  loss  of  or  damage  to  property 
in  transit  and  the  failure  to  make  delivery  safely  and 
with  reasonable  dispatch,  in  accordance  with  the  con- 
tract, expressed  or  implied,  which  a  carrier  enters  into 
when  accepting  a  shipment,  are  matters  solely  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  courts. 

The  language  of  the  Act  being  of  doubtful  interpreta- 
tion, the  Commission,  which  is  a  special  tribunal  of  lim- 
ited powers,  ought  not  to  take  jurisdiction,  but  should 
resolve  the  doubt  in  favor  of  the  court,  where  claims  of 
loss  and  damage  resulting  from  discrimination  in  use  of 
facilities  ordinarily  belong.  The  question  has  been  taken 
before  the  federal  courts  but  the  Supreme  Court  has  not 
passed  on  it. 

Jurisdiction  over  reasonable  rates. — The  Commission 
is  expressly  authorized  to  prescribe  the  just  and  reason- 
able maximum  individual  or  joint  rate  or  rates  to  -be 
charged.  In  determining  what  is  a  reasonable  rate  as 
distinguished  from  a  non-discriminatory  rate,  a  great  va- 
riety of  matters  must  be  considered  by  the  Commission. 
A  reasonable  rate  must  be  one  which  will  afford  to  the 
carrier  a  just  revenue  for  the  service  performed  and  at 
the  same  time  impose  no  unjust  burden  upon  the  shipper. 

Thus,  among  the  elements  considered  by  the  Commis- 
sion and  the  courts  as  being  entitled  to  more  or  less 
weight  may  be  mentioned  the  following : 

The  bona  fide  investment  of  the  carrier,  the  car-mile 
or  train-mile  revenue  produced  by  rates,  comparison  of 
the  rate  attacked  with  that  in  effect  upon  similar  com- 
modities, whether  the  rate  is  made   under   influence   of 


102  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

competition  or  not,  the  cost  of  the  service  by  the  carrier, 
distance  of  the  haul,  equipment  furnished,  length  of  time 
the  rate  has  been  in  effect,  rate  in  the  opposite  direction, 
character  of  the  traffic,  revenue  of  the  carrier,  location 
of  the  road,  permanent  improvements  made  by  the  car- 
rier, whether  the  carrier  has  had  a  previous  haul  on  the 
raw  material  where  the  product  shipped  is  a  manufac- 
tured one,  the  profit  of  the  shipper,  the  revenue  of  the 
carrier,  risk  of  loss  or  damage  to  the  shipment,  size  of 
the  carrier,  ton-mile  revenue,  number  of  carriers  par- 
ticipating in  the  haul,  value  of  the  commodity,  value  of 
the  service,  volume  of  traffic,  voluntary  or  subsequent  re- 
duction of  the  rate,  weight  of  the  shipment,  relation  of 
the  rates. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
author,  assuming  the  railroad  to  have  been  constructed 
through  a  territory  in  need  of  its  facilities,  it  is  entitled 
to  earn  from  the  aggregate  of  all  its  rates,  when  econom- 
ically constructed  and  efficiently  managed,  a  sum  equal 
to  6  per  cent  upon  its  bona  fide  investment  provided  the 
rates  so  exacted  do  not  place  an  unjust  burden  upon  the 
public.    The  rights  of  the  public  are  always  paramount. 

Jurisdiction  over  divisions. — Where  more  than  one 
carrier  engages  in  a  haul,  the  rate  received  is  divided 
among  the  participants  by  agreement.  The  amount 
which  each  one  receives  is  called  its  "division"  of  the 
rate.  These  divisions  are  matters  of  agreement  between 
the  carriers,  and  the  public  has  no  interest  in  them.  If, 
however,  the  carriers  cannot  agree  upon  divisions,  the 
Commission  itself  will  fix  them.  It  generally  does  so  with 
reference  to  the  length  of  the  haul  over  each  carrier,  al- 
though sometimes  a  railroad  may  be  so  situated  with  re- 
spect to  the  traffic  that  it  can  demand  a  larger  division 
than  that  to  which  it  ordinarily  would  be  entitled. 


SECTION  15  103 

Carriers,  moreover,  cannot,  because  of  a  dispute  over 
divisions,  cancel  a  through  rate  and  thus  cause  an  ad- 
vance in  charges  to  the  shipper ;  nor  because  of  such  dis- 
pute can  they  refuse  to  establish  a  joint  rate  and  through 
route  where  the  same  is  reasonably  necessary. 

Small  carriers,  commonly  called  tap,  or  industrial, 
lines,  varying  in  length  up  to  20  miles,  often  connect  in- 
dustries moving  a  large  tonnage,  particularly  the  lum- 
ber and  steel  interests  with  the  trunk  lines.  For  their 
service  in  hauling  the  product  from  the  forest,  lumber 
mill,  or  furnace  to  the  trunk  line  and  saving  it  that  haul, 
these  lines  are  given  what  are  commonly  called  "  divi- 
sions out  of  the  rate."  The  right  to  receive  these  and 
the  legality  of  the  practice  will  be  considered  under  the 
heading  of  " Allowances,"  inasmuch  as  such  divisions  are 
generally  made  for  services  other  than  the  mere  hauling 
of  the  shipment. 

Jurisdiction  over  advanced  rates:  In  general. — Sec- 
tion 15  provides  that  at  any  hearing  involving  a  rate  in- 
creased after  January  1,  1910,  or  a  rate  sought  to  be  in- 
creased after  the  passage  of  the  Act,  the  burden  of  proof 
to  show  that  the  increased  rate  or  proposed  increased 
rate  is  just  and  reasonable  shall  be  upon  the  common  car- 
rier. The  Commission  must  give  to  the  hearing  and  de- 
cision of  such  questions  preference  over  all  other  ques- 
tions pending  before  it,  and  must  decide  the  same  as 
speedily  as  possible. 

This  question  of  advanced  rates  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant subjects  with  which  the  Commission  has  to  deal. 
A  railroad  has  many  different  demands  upon  it.  It  must 
pay  taxes,  and  this  is  a  large  item.  It  must  constantly 
replace  equipment,  which,  owing  to  the  different  state 
laws  prescribing  new  and  different  appliances,  is  almost 
invariably  more  expensive  than  that  formerly  used. 
Bridges  have  to  be  repaired,  culverts  built,  new  tracks 


104  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

laid,  new  ties  bought,  and  a  thousand  and  one  other 
things  must  be  done. 

The  largest  single  item  of  expense,  however,  is  that  of 
wages,  and  these  are  constantly  augmenting.  Owing  to 
the  increasing  amount  of  these  various  expenses,  the  rail- 
roads feel  that  they  are  from  time  to  time  entitled  to 
higher  rates. 

The  shipper,  who  is  also  subject  to  increased  manufac- 
turing costs,  objects  to  paying  higher  freight  rates. 
Hence,  we  have  a  constant  conflict  between  the  shipper 
and  the  consumer  on  the  one  hand  and  the  railroad  on 
the  other.  Formerly,  when  the  railroad  advanced  its 
rates,  neither  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  nor 
the  public  had  any  remedy  except  by  attacking  the  ad- 
vanced rate  the  same  as  any  other  rate  would  be  attacked. 
Finally,  Congress  amended  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act 
so  as  to  provide  that  whenever  an  advanced  rate  was  pub- 
lished to  become  effective,  it  could  be  temporarily  sus- 
pended by  the  Commission  and  the  carrier  called  upon  to 
justify  the  advance.  The  burden  of  proof  was  placed 
upon  the  railroad.  As  we  have  seen,  the  Commission  was 
also  given  power  to  suspend  the  advanced  rate  and  to 
prevent  it  from  becoming  effective  temporarily.  On  ac- 
count of  the  importance  of  the  subject,  we  will  consider  it 
somewhat  more  in  detail. 

The  question  of  the  reasonableness  or  the  justness  of 
the  increase  in  interstate  rates,  is  one  for  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Commission  and  not  for  the  courts.  The  Com- 
mission is  not  concerned,  however,  with  the  motives  of 
the  carriers  increasing  the  rates,  provided  the  charges 
proposed  are  just  and  reasonable.  It  does  not  stand  as 
a  supreme  traffic  manager  for  the  railroads  of  the  coun- 
try. Considerations  of  their  policy  is  not  a  matter  dele- 
gated to  it, 


SECTION  15  105 

While  the  authority  of  the  Commission  extends  only  to 
passing  upon  the  reasonableness  of  the  rate  presented 
for  its  consideration,  it  is  not  restricted  to  a  single  rate. 
Any  number  of  rates  may  be  attacked  in  the  same  com- 
plaint, and  the  duty  of  the  Commission  is  to  consider 
the  passing  upon  those  so  presented.  However,  when 
there  is  involved  the  propriety  of  an  advance  affecting, 
for  instance,  the  entire  rate  fabric  within  Official  Classi- 
fication Territory  (consisting  of  one  half  the  tonnage 
and  one  half  the  freight  revenues  of  the  whole  country), 
and  where  that  advance  is  justified  mainly  upon  the 
ground,  not  of  commercial  conditions,  but  of  lack  of  ade- 
quate revenue,  on  the  present  rate  basis,  the  Commission 
must  determine  the  fundamental  question  of  the  reason- 
ableness of  the  rate  and  the  adequacy  of  the  carrier's 
revenues.17 

However,  it  should  be  noted  that  the  Commission  has 
no  authority  to  order  the  advance  of  a  rate,  although  it 
may  accomplish  the  same  effect  b}^  prescribing  that  one 
point  should  take  the  same  rates  as  another.  Such  an 
order  can  be  made  either  by  raising  the  rate  to  the 
favored  point,  or  by  reducing  it  to  the  other.  In  this  con- 
nection, it  must  be  remembered  that  the  important  ques- 
tion in  many  cases  is  not  the  amount  of  a  rate,  but  its 
relation  to  other  rates.  In  many  cases  of  discrimination, 
there  is  no  question  as  to  the  reasonableness  of  the  rate 
in  itself,  but  the  complaint  comes  from  the  fact  that  the 
rate  does  not  bear  the  proper  relation  to  other  rates. 

Same  subject:  Justification  of  increase. — In  all  cases 
where  the  carrier  increases  an  existing  rate  the  burden 
of  justifying  such  increase  and  of  showing  that  the  in- 
creased rate  is  reasonable  is  upon  the  carrier.  It  was  at 
first  contended  that  the  statute  only  obligated  the  carrier 
to  justify  the  increase  in  the  rate,  but  it  is  now  well  set- 
advances  in  Rates— Eastern  Case,  20  I.  C.  C.  243,  248. 


106  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

tied  that  the  carrier  must  show  the  entire  increased  rate 
to  be  reasonable.  It  is  clear,  from  the  language  of  the 
statute  as  well  as  from  its  history,  that  the  purpose  of 
Congress  differed  from  the  purpose  of  Parliament  in  that 
Congress  did  not  intend  to  prescribe  that  any  existing 
rates  were  necessarily  reasonable,  that  is,  that  because 
they  were  then  in  effect  they  were  not  subject  to  attack; 
that  it  was  the  duty  of  the  Commission  to  deal  with  the 
increased  rates  and  not  the  increase  in  the  rate;  and  that 
the  Commission  may  continue  in  effect  the  present  lower 
rates  or  may  reduce  the  existing  rates.18 

It  should  also  be  noted  that  a  group  of  carriers  cannot 
cast  upon  a  single  carrier  the  responsibility  of  maintain- 
ing the  burden  of  establishing  the  reasonableness  of  cer- 
tain advances,  and  claim  the  benefit  of  whatever  the  case 
made  by  that  carrier  may  establish. 

Same  subject:  Right  to  advance  rates. — Within  cer- 
tain limits  it  may  be  the  right  of  the  Commission  to  con- 
sider the  question  of  advanced  rates  in  Official  Classifica- 
tion Territory  as  one  of  public  policy  and  not  one  of  strict 
legal  right.  If  the  true  interest  of  the  whole  community 
requires  it,  the  railroads  might  perhaps  be  allowed  fair 
earnings  with  which  to  aid  their  properties  in  addition 
to  the  payment  of  return  to  their  stockholders,  even 
though  there  is  no  strict  requirement  of  law  which  com- 
mands it.  The  ordinary  considerations  of  justice  require 
that  money  invested  in  railroads  by  invitation  of  the  Gov- 
ernment should  be  allowed  a  fair  return.  This  does  not 
mean  that  the  Commission  should  permit  rates  which  will 
guarantee  all  railroad  investment,  or  which  will  guaran- 
tee any  railroad  investment  at  all  times;  but  it  should 
allow  rates  which  will  yield  to  this  capital  as  large  a 
return  as  it  could  have  obtained  from  other  investments 
of  the  same  grade.    If  rates  formerly  in  effect  have  be- 

"Advances  in  Rates— Western  Case,  20  I.  C.  C.  307,  311,  314. 


SECTION  15  107 

come  insufficient,  then  higher  rates  should  be  permitted. 
Bates  should  be  such  as  to  render  possible  a  high-class, 
not  an  extravagant,  transportation  service.19 

Various  reasons  have  been  advanced  to  justify  in- 
creased rates.  We  will  note,  briefly,  the  more  common 
ones. 

Very  often  carriers  have  advanced  rates  which  are 
related  in  some  way.  It  is  now  well  settled  that  there  is 
no  justification  for  the  increase  in  the  fact  that  unless  the 
rates  to  several  communities  are  increased,  another  and 
competing  community  will  be  entitled  to  lower  rates  than 
it  now  enjoys.20  The  fact  that  other  rates  may  be  re- 
duced if  the  increases  are  not  permitted  affords  no  predi- 
cate that  the  present  rates  are  unreasonably  low. 

Perhaps  the  most  common  excuse  urged  for  an  advance 
in  rates  is  that  the  advance  will  equalize  related  rates. 
Rates  between  competing  producing  or  consuming  locali- 
ties may  be  inequitably  adjusted  and  an  advance  from 
the  favored  locality  may  be  advisable.  It  is  well  settled, 
however,  that  merely  because  rates  are  increased  so  as  to 
effect  a  differential,  or  so  as  more  equitably  to  equalize 
rates  between  competing  coal  fields,  it  does  not  necessar- 
ily follow  that  the  rates  in  themselves  are  just  or  reason- 
able. The  Commission  is  not  concerned  with  the  increase 
in  the  rates,  but  with  the  increased  rate.21  It  should  be 
noted,  however,  that  advances  proposed  in  order  to  bring 
about  a  proper  relation  of  rates  are  justified. 

Same  subject:  Right  to  earn. — As  to  what  a  railroad 
is  entitled  to  earn,  it  seems  that  the  trend  of  the  highest 
judicial  opinion  is  that  the  Commission  should  not  accept 
the  cost  of  reproduction,  the  capitalization,  the  prices  of 
stock  and  bonds  in  the  market,  or  yet  the  original  invest- 

19 Advances  in  Rates— Eastern  Case,  20  I.  C.  C.  243,  262. 
"Texas  Common  Point  Case,  26  I.  C.  C.  528,  532. 
"Advances  on  Coal  to  Lake  Points,  22  I.  C.  C.  604,  612. 


108  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

ment  alone,  as  the  test  of  present  value  for  purposes  of 
rate  regulation.  Perhaps  the  nearest  approximation  to 
the  fair  standard  is  that  of  bona  fide  investment — the 
sacrifice  made  by  the  owners  of  the  property — consider- 
ing as  part  of  the  investment  any  shortage  of  returns  that 
there  may  be  in  the  early  years  of  enterprise.  Upon  the 
valuation  thus  reached,  taking  the  life  history  of  the 
road  through  a  number  of  years,  its  promoters  are  en- 
titled to  a  reasonable  return.  This,  however,  is  manifestly 
limited,  for  a  return  should  not  be  given  upon  wasteful- 
ness, mismanagement,  or  poor  judgment;  and  always 
there  is  present  the  restriction  that  no  more  than  a  rea- 
sonable rate  shall  be  charged.  There  are  many  elements 
that  enter  into  this  problem.  Perhaps  it  may  be  sug- 
gested, as  heretofore,  that  a  road  which  has  been  econom- 
ically constructed  and  is  efficiently  operated  is  entitled  to 
earn  6  per  cent  on  the  bona  fide  investment  in  the  prop- 
erty. 

Same  subject:  Change  in  conditions. — One  of  the 
common  excuses  urged  for  an  advance  in  rates  is  the  fact 
that  conditions  have  changed  since  the  establishment  of 
the  original  rate.  The  reasonableness  of  a  rate  must  of 
necessity  depend  upon  the  conditions  surrounding  the 
traffic  at  the  time  it  moves.  The  length  of  the  haul,  the 
competition  to  be  met,  the  cost  and  the  value  of  the  serv- 
ice, the  density  or  volume  of  the  tonnage,  as  well  as  the 
general  transportation  conditions  then  existing,  are  all 
factors  that  have  a  more  or  less  definite  relation  to  the 
rate  that  may  reasonably  be  demanded.  These  factors, 
except  possibly  the  length  of  the  haul,  the  grades,  and 
other  transportation  conditions,  are  in  their  nature  nei- 
ther permanent  nor  fixed,  but  they  necessarily  change 
with  the  general  economic  panorama.  No  presumption 
of  law,  therefore,  can  arise  against  an  advanced  rate 
simply  because  a  lower  rate  previously  existed. 


SECTION  15  109 

It  is  well  understood  that  in  recent  years  there  has 
been  a  continuous  advance  in  the  price  of  most  materials 
and  supplies  used  in  constructing  and  operating  a  rail- 
road, that  there  has  been  a  constant  tendency  to  advance 
wages,  and  that  all  this  has  tended  to  increase  the  cost 
of  operation.  On  the  other  hand,  there  has  been  a  steady 
improvement  in  transportation  efficiency.  Trains  are 
longer;  cars  are  larger  and  more  heavily  loaded;  grades 
are  easier;  the  amount  hauled  by  a  given  engine  is 
greater;  and  the  density  of  traffic  is  much  larger.  All 
this  tends  to  reduce  the  expense  of  transportation. 

These  two  sets  of  causes  work  in  opposite  directions 
and  tend  to  balance  each  other.  It  is  not  certain  what 
the  net  result  has  been  at  any  time  in  the  past,  or  what  it 
is  today.  It  is  not  improbable  that  at  the  outset  the 
economies  of  operation  more  than  outweighed  the  in- 
creased cost  of  labor  and  supplies,  but  that  of  late  the 
reverse  has  been  true. 

But  an  increase  in  the  cost  of  labor  and  in  the  price  of 
railroad  materials  and  supplies  does  not  necessarily 
imply  that  there  has  been  a  decrease  in  the  net  earnings 
of  the  carrier  during  the  same  period.  A  material  growth 
in  its  traffic  and  economies  resulting  from  an  alert  and 
skillful  management  may  readily  overcome  the  increase 
in  the  cost  of  labor  and  its  materials  and  thus  leave 
its  net  revenues  unimpaired. 

Everything  else  remaining  the  same,  an  increase  in  cost 
of  operation  would  justify  an  advance  in  rates.  Other 
things  remaining  the  same,  increase  in  traffic  requires  a 
decrease  in  rates.  It  may,  therefore,  happen  that  the 
increase  of  traffic  will  more  than  offset  the  increase  in 
operating  expense. 

Sometimes  it  happens  that  a  low  rate  is  established  to 
meet  competition  which  has  ceased  to  exist.  In  such 
cases  it  is  held  that  where  former  rates  were  forced  down 


110  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

by  past  competition,  the  advanced  rate  will  be  sustained 
if  it  is  not  shown  to  be  unreasonable  per  se.  While  a  car- 
rier may  establish  a  lower  rate  to  meet  competitive  condi- 
tions, and  the  Commission  takes  into  account  such  con- 
ditions in  passing  upon  the  reasonableness  of  the  rate 
adjustment,  it  does  not  follow  that  in  a  particular  in- 
stance the  Commission  will  condemn  an  advance  of  a 
rate  which  was  formerly  maintained  to  meet  competition 
between  different  producing  ]3oints.22 

In  the  procedure  of  rate  cases  it  is  often  of  importance 
to  ascertain  just  what  proof  should  be  submitted.  Very 
frequently  it  happens  that  there  are  elements  existing 
which  raise  certain  presumptions  and  therefore  do  away 
with  the  necessity  of  proof  on  those  particular  things. 
The  most  important  one  is  the  presumption  that  a  rate 
voluntarily  in  effect  for  many  years  has  been  remunera- 
tive to  the  carrier.  But  this  rule  is  subject  to  certain 
well-defined  limitations. 

Railways  are  authorized  to  establish  in  the  first  in- 
stance their  transportation  charges  and  the  presumption 
of  right-doing  attaches  to  their  acts  in  the  establishment 
of  those  rates.  The  only  presumption  of  law  against  a 
particular  rate  springs  from  the  fact  that  the  rate  in  ques- 
tion is  an  advance  over  some  previous  rate.  The  burden 
of  proof  is  always  upon  the  party  who  attacks  the  exist- 
ing rate,  except  in  the  case  of  a  rate  advanced  after  Jan- 
uary 1,  1910.  The  circumstance  that  the  railway  has  for 
a  series  of  years  maintained  a  lower  rate  or  a  different  re- 
lation of  rates  is  a  fact  that  may  be  introduced  and  con- 
sidered like  any  other  fact.23 

But  there  is  no  presumption  of  wrong  arising  from  the 
changing  of  a  rate  by  a  carrier.     Undoubtedly,  while 

^Fla.  Fruit  &  Vegetable  Ass'n  v.  A.  C.  L.  R.  R.  Co.,  17  I.  C.  C. 
852,  558. 

"I.  C.  C.  v.  Chicago  G.  W.  R.  R.  Co.,  209  U.  S.  108,  119. 


SECTION  15  111 

rates  are  changed  the  carrier  making  the  change  must, 
when  properly  called  upon,  be  able  to  give  a  good  reason 
therefor.  But  the  mere  fact  that  a  rate  has  been  raised 
carries  with  it  no  presumption  of  wrong-doing. 

Ordinarily,  the  advance  of  a  rate  for  a  short  period 
followed  by  the  restoration  and  maintenance  of  a  lower 
rate  formerly  in  force  tends  to  raise  a  presumption  of  fact 
that  the  advanced  rate  was  unreasonable.  This  rule  may 
be  modified  where  a  special  rate,  not  compensatory,  is 
put  in  effect  to  ' '  scalp ' '  business  on  competitive  traffic.24 

The  circumstance  that  carriers  established  and  volun- 
tarily maintained  certain  rates  for  twenty-five  years,  for 
instance,  is  not  conclusive  evidence  that  they  were  rea- 
sonable; but  it  is  in  the  nature  of  an  admission  upon  their 
part  to  that  effect,  which  requires,  when  these  rates  are 
advanced,  some  satisfactory  explanation.  "When  it  fur- 
ther appears  that  a  rate  voluntarily  maintained  for  a 
quarter  of  a  century  has  within  seven  years  been  in- 
creased by  one  fourth,  the  reason  by  which  it  is  sought 
to  justify  a  still  further  advance  should  be  even  more 
cogent.  This  does  not  conclusively  show  that  the  carriers 
ought  not  to  be  permitted  to  advance  such  rate  at  the 
present  time  or  in  the  future;  but  it  is  evidence  which 
bears  strongly  upon  the  propriety  of  a  present  increase. 

The  long  continuance  of  a  rate  voluntarily  established 
and  not  published  under  the  compelling  influence  of  com- 
petitive conditions  is  in  itself  evidence  of  no  little  weight 
of  its  reasonableness.  But  the  long  continuance  of  a  rate 
largely  loses  its  value  as  evidence  in  a  case  involving  an 
advanced  rate  for  the  same  service,  when  it  is  shown  that 
the  prior  and  lower  rate  was  the  result  of  the  influence 
of  a  strong  movement  by  water. 

An  advance  in  a  long-established  rate  at  once  suggests 
the  propriety  of  an  inquiry  of  the  carrier  for  a  statement 

"Fairmont  Creamery  Co.  v.  C.  B.  &  Q.  R.  R.  Co.,  22  I.  C.  C.  252,  254. 


112  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

of  its  reasons  for  making  the  advance.  But  in  making  its 
explanation  the  carrier  is  not  under  the  necessity  of  over- 
coming the  technical  weight  and  force  of  a  presumption 
of  law  that  the  previously  existing  lower  rate  was  a  rea- 
sonable rate.  The  long  continuance  of  a  lower  rate  may 
be  said  to  raise  a  presumption  of  fact  that  the  advanced 
rate  is  unreasonable.  But  this  in  a  sense  is  no  presump- 
tion at  all,  for  it  cannot  carry  beyond  the  actual  tendency 
of  the  fact  itself  to  produce  that  belief  in  the  mind  of 
the  investigator.  The  fact  that  the  lower  rate  has  long- 
remained  undisturbed  has  strong  probative  value.  Con- 
sidered merely  as  evidence,  such  a  rate  history,  in  the 
absence  of  some  explanation  that  satisfies  the  judgment 
of  the  propriety  and  need  of  an  increase  in  rates,  would 
ordinarily  have  a  great  force.  But  in  every  case  the  Com- 
mission must  consider  and  weigh  all  the  other  facts  of 
record  before  arriving  at  the  conclusion  that  the  increase 
in  rates  was  unreasonable.25 

Where  carriers  voluntarily  maintain  a  rate  between 
certain  points  for  a  long  period  of  time,  the  presumption 
is  that  such  rate  is  reasonable.  Where  a  long-established 
rate  is  raised  for  a  short  period  and  then  voluntarily  re- 
duced to  the  former  level,  the  presumption  is  that  the 
advanced  rate  was  unreasonable;  but  this  presumption 
may  be  overcome  by  proof  to  the  contrary.  However, 
where  an  advance  is  made  in  rates  long  maintained  and 
the  evidence  shows  that  the  traffic  affected  is  large,  im- 
portant, and  constantly  increasing,  the  advance  will  be 
held  unjust  unless  it  is  satisfactorily  explained.26 

Jurisdiction  over  through  routes  and  joint  rates. — 
Section  15  also  provides  that  the  Commission  may,  after 
a  hearing,  either  upon  complaint  or  upon  its  own  initia- 

"Memphis  Cotton  Oil  Co.  v.  I.  C.  R.  R.  Co.,  17  I.  C.  C.  313,  318. 
"•Pacific  Coast  Lumber  Mfrs.  Ass'n  v.  N.  P.  Ry.  Co.,  14  I.  C.  C.  23, 
38. 


SECTION  15  113 

tive,  establish  through  routes  and  joint  classifications. 
Likewise,  the  Commission  may  establish  joint  rates  as  the 
maximum  to  be  charged.  Whenever  the  carriers  them- 
selves shall  have  refused  or  neglected  to  establish  volun- 
tarily through  routes,  joint  classifications,  or  joint  rates, 
it  may  prescribe  the  division  of  such  rates,  and  the  terms 
and  conditions  under  which  the  through  routes  shall  be 
operated.  This  provision  applies  when  one  of  the  con- 
necting carriers  is  a  water  line. 

The  Commission  may  not,  however,  establish  any 
through  route,  classification,  or  rate  between  street  elec- 
tric passenger  railways  not  engaged  in  the  general  busi- 
ness of  transporting  freight  in  addition  to  their  passen- 
ger and  express  business,  and  railroads  of  a  different 
character;  nor  has  it  the  right  to  establish  any  route, 
classification,  rate,  fare,  or  charge  when  the  transporta- 
tion is  wholly  by  water. 

In  establishing  such  through  route,  the  Commission 
shall  not  compel  any  company  to  embrace  in  such  route 
substantially  less  than  the  entire  length  of  its  railroad 
plus  that  of  any  intermediate  railroad  operated  in  con- 
junction with  or  under  a  common  management  or  control, 
and  lying  between  the  termini  of  such  proposed  through 
route.  But  if  the  observance  of  the  foregoing  rule  would 
make  the  through  route  unreasonably  long  as  compared 
with  another  possible  and  practicable  through  route,  the 
Commission  can  force  the  railroad  to  establish  the  latter. 

Under  Section  1  the  carrier  is  required  to  establish 
through  routes  and  joint  rates;  and  by  Section  15  the 
Commission  is  given  the  authority  to  require  the  carrier 
to  do  this  when  necessary.  There  is  no  more  important 
power  than  this  conferred  upon  the  Commission. 
Through  routes  and  joint  rates  are  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance to  the  shippers. 


114  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

There  are  really  only  two  limitations  upon  this  power 
of  the  Commission.  The  most  important  is  that  the  orig- 
inating carrier  is  entitled  to  the  long  haul  on  the  traffic 
and  the  Commission  cannot  deprive  it  of  its  right  to  have 
the  freight  carried  over  such  part  of  its  railroad  as  lies 
directly  between  the  termini  of  the  proposed  through 
route,  unless  the  carrier  consents  to  the  change,  or  unless 
to  do  so  would  make  such  through  route  unreasonably 
long  as  compared  with  another  practicable  through  route 
which  could  otherwise  be  established. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  Section  1  of  the  Act  re- 
lating to  the  establishment  of  through  routes  and  reason- 
able rates  applicable  thereto,  should  be  read  in  connec- 
tion with  the  latter  portion  of  Section  3,  and  with  Section 
15.  Furthermore,  regard  should  be  given  to  the  intend- 
ment of  the  Act  as  a  whole,  and  the  correction  of  the  evil 
to  be  remedied.  Prior  to  1910,  the  power  of  the  Commis- 
sion to  establish  through  routes  was  limited  to  instances 
in  which  no  satisfactory  through  route  existed.  The  re- 
moval of  this  limitation  places  within  the  discretion  of 
the  Commission  the  establishment  of  additional  through 
routes.  The  theory  of  the  provision  in  Section  1  of  the 
Act  relating  to  the  establishment  of  through  routes  and 
reasonable  rates  applicable  thereto,  is  that  carriers 
should  freely  interchange  freight  between  their  respective 
lines,  to  the  end  that  interstate  commerce  may  move  with- 
out interruption  or  delay.  The  failure  of  the  Commission 
to  comply  with  its  duty  under  Section  1  of  the  Act  to 
establish  just  and  reasonable  rates  does  not  nullify  its 
compliance  with  the  duty  to  establish  through  routes.  It 
should  be  noted  that  under  Section  1  of  the  Act,  relating 
to  the  establishment  of  through  routes  and  joint  rates, 
the  duty  of  the  Commission  is  twofold:     (1)    Through 


SECTION  15  115 

routes  must  be  established;  (2)  just  and  reasonable  rates 
must  be  made  applicable  thereto.27 

The  important  thing  to  remember  is  that  the  Commis- 
sion has  power  to  order  the  establishment  of  a  through 
route  and  joint  rate  although  there  are  in  existence  other 
through  routes  capable  of  adequately  and  expeditiously 
handling  all  traffic.  We  shall  note  briefly  the  general 
principles  governing  the  subject  of  through  routes  and 
joint  rates. 

Same  subject:  Establishment  by  carrier.— It  must  be 
remembered  that  a  through  route  is  a  continuous  line 
formed  by  agreement,  express  or  implied,  between  con- 
necting carriers  over  which  shipments  are  to  be  made  and 
that  all  services  in  connection  therewith  from  origin  to 
destination  must  be  performed  by  the  carriers  at  their 
lawfully  established  rates  applicable  thereto.  The  serv- 
ice must  be  unbroken  for  every  part  of  the  journey  over 
the  continuous  line.  When  a  through  route  is  estab- 
lished, the  shipper  should  not  be  called  upon  at  any  point 
therein  to  assume  possession  or  control  of  his  shipment 
or  to  do  any  service  in  forwarding  it  to  its  final  destina- 
tion, such  as  loading  and  unloading  in  transit.  But  car- 
riers may  provide  for  unloading  and  transferring  at 
stated  junction  points  as  a  part  of  the  through  service, 
if  their  tariffs  also  specify  the  kind  of  service  required 
in  transferring  at  such  points  and  the  separate  rates  and 
charges  to  be  exacted  therefor.28 

The  Act  imposes  upon  common  carriers  subject  to  its 
provisions  the  duty  of  establishing  in  a  prescribed  mode 
the  rates,  whether  individual  or  joint,  to  be  charged  for 
the  transportation  in  interstate  commerce  of  property 
over  their  lines.  The  rates  so  established  are  obligatory 
upon  carrier  and  shipper  and  must  be  strictly  observed  by 

"Flour  City  S.  S.  Co.  v.  L.  V.  R.  R.  Co.,  24  I.  C.  C.  179,  184. 
"Memphis  Freight  Bur.  v.  F.  S.  &  W.  R.  R.  Co.,  13  I.  C.  C.  1,  8. 


116  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

both  until  changed  in  the  required  manner.  The  provision 
of  Section  15  that  the  shipper  shall  in  all  instances  have 
the  right  to  determine  over  which  of  several  competing 
lines  his  freight  shall  be  transported,  is  not  a  flexible  rule 
of  law  to  be  expanded  or  contracted  to  meet  the  needs  of 
carriers  under  varying  situations  which  may  or  may  not 
be  of  their  own  creation,  and  the  Commission  has  promul- 
gated nothing  in  the  nature  of  exceptions  thereto  or 
exemptions  therefrom. 

The  law  requires  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of 
through  routes  and  joint  rates  in  order  that  traffic  may  be 
moved,  whether  in  greater  or  less  volume  and  for  long 
or  short  distances,  without  the  delays  or  other  handicaps 
of  reshipment.  It  recognizes  the  carrier's  right  to  its 
own  long  haul ;  hence,  it  releases  it  from  the  obligation  to 
participate  in  a  through  route  between  any  two  points 
which  does  not  include  all  or  substantially  all  of  its  line 
or  lines  between  those  points,  except  when  an  unreason- 
ably long  or  circuitous  route  would  otherwise  be  created. 
But  it  goes  further;  where  through  routes  and  through 
rates  have  been  established,  the  law  reposes  in  the  ship- 
per the  right  to  dictate  how  his  shipments  must  be  routed, 
both  as  to  terminal  and  to  intermediate  carriers. 

Same  subject:  Right  to  favor  own  line. — Similarly,  a 
carrier  has  a  right  so  to  construct  its  tariffs  as  to  hold  the 
business  to  its  own  line,  provided  in  so  doing  any  provi- 
sion of  the  Act  is  not  violated.  A  carrier  may  in  its  own 
interest,  if  it  so  desires,  carry  for  a  longer  distance  over 
its  own  line  than  would  be  necessary  if  carried  over 
the  line  of  its  competitors,  in  order  to  obtain 
a  portion  of  the  competitive  business  upon  terms 
that  will  afford  some  profit.  It  does  not  neces- 
sarily follow,  however,  that  a  carrier  not  compet- 
ing for  traffic  in  this  way  thereby  subjects  itself  to  an 
order  compelling  it  to  do  so.    Thus,  a  trunk-line  carrier 


SECTION  15  117 

which  purchases  a  branch-line  road  is  justified  in  can- 
celing through  joint  rates  with  another  carrier  when  such 
cancellation  will  tend  to  move  traffic  entirely  over  its  own 
line  under  reasonable  and  non-discriminatory  rates,  to 
the  exclusion  of  the  former  two-line  haul. 

While  a  producing  center  may  be  entitled  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  through  route  and  joint  rate  via  a  desig- 
nated junction,  it  is  not  unreasonable,  where  the  product 
is  not  perishable  and  moves  at  all  seasons,  to  permit  the 
originating  carrier  to  transport  such  commodity  via  an- 
other junction  point  over  a  substantially  longer  route,  in 
order  to  obtain  the  long  haul  and  hold  the  traffic  to  its 
own  line.  But  it  must  do  so  under  rates  which  should  be 
established  via  the  shorter  designated  route.  Inasmuch 
as  a  carrier  may  so  construct  tariffs  as  to  hold  traffic  to 
its  own  line,  so  long  as  the  Act  is  not  violated,  or  may  in 
its  own  interest  carry  for  longer  distance  over  its  own 
line  than  would  be  necessary  over  the  line  of  its  competi- 
tor, as  the  end  sought  and  the  resulting  rate  in  each  dis- 
tance is  the  same,  the  carrier  may  refrain  from  carrying 
the  longer  distance  when  to  do  so  compels  it  to  accept  a 
less  satisfactory  division  of  the  rate. 

The  carriers  owe  a  duty  to  establish  and  maintain 
through  routes  and  joint  rates  so  that  there  may  be  the 
freest  movement  of  traffic  without  the  necessity  of  reship- 
ment.  In  the  formation  of  these  through  routes,  however, 
the  law  recognizes  the  right  of  the  carrier  to  protect  its 
own  long  haul,  and  it  may  not  be  required  against  its  own 
will  to  participate  in  a  through  route  between  any  two 
points  which  does  not  include  all,  or  substantially  all,  of 
its  line  or  lines  between  those  points,  except  when  an  un- 
reasonably long  or  circuitous  route  would  otherwise  be 
established.29 

"Chamber  of  Commerce  of  N.  Y.  v.  N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  E.  E.  E.  Co.,  24 
I.  C.  C. 


118  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

Same  subject:  What  is  satisfactory  through  route. — 
"  Railroads  of  the  country  are  called  upon  so  to  unite 
themselves  that  they  will  constitute  one  national  sys- 
tem.'' They  must  establish  through  routes,  keep  these 
routes  open  and  in  operation,  furnish  necessary  facilities 
for  such  transportation,  and  make  reasonable  and  proper 
rules  of  practice  as  between  themselves  and  the  shippers, 
and  as  between  each  other.  The  purpose  of  Section  15  is 
to  afford  relief  to  a  shipping  community  and  not  to  aid 
carriers  to  acquire  strategic  advantages  in  their  contests 
with  each  other.  While  a  railroad  company  is  compe- 
tent to  file  a  complaint  under  the  clause  in  question  and 
to  demand  an  order  establishing  such  routes  and  rates 
with  its  connections,  its  right  to  such  relief  is  to  be  tested 
by  the  needs  of  the  community  that  it  seeks  thus  to  serve 
and  not  by  the  fact  that  stations  on  its  line  in  such  com- 
munity have  not  been  accorded  such  routes  and  rates  by 
connecting  lines. 

Points  of  production  are  entitled  to  reasonable  through 
rates  applicable  thereto.  Whether  or  not  a  through  route 
shall  be  established  by  the  Commission  depends  largely 
upon  whether  or  not  a  through  route  via  a  designated 
junction  point  would  be  " unreasonably  long"  under  the 
terms  of  Section  15. 

Same  subject:  Right  to  withdraw  through  routes. — 
Inasmuch  as  the  through  rate  is  generally  less  than  the 
combination  of  local  rates  would  be,  there  results  an  ad- 
vance in  rates  to  the  shipper  if  the  through  rate  is  with- 
drawn. Very  frequently,  in  order  to  force  traffic  through 
certain  gateways  or  because  of  disputes  with  other  car- 
riers over  divisions,  railroads  withdraw  their  consent  to 
certain  through  routes.  There  is  then  presented  the  sit- 
uation of  an  advance  in  rates  that  the  carrier  must 
justify. 


SECTION  15  119 

It  has  been  held  that  a  dispute  over  divisions,  which  is 
the  most  common  excuse,  affords  no  justification  for  the 
withdrawal.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  carrier  will  have  a 
very  hard  time  justifying  any  such  withdrawal  unless 
there  is  left  for  the  shipper  another  equally  feasible  and 
practicable  through  route  and  joint  rate  between  the 
termini  involved.  If  such  a  route  does  exist,  then,  sub- 
ject to  the  other  rules  we  have  seen  governing  advances 
in  rates,  the  carrier  may  be  able  to  justify  the  with- 
drawal. 

Same  subject:  Obligation  to  furnish  equipment. — 
Very  often  disputes  arise  between  carriers  and  shippers 
as  to  what  line  in  the  through  route  is  under  the  duty  to 
furnish  cars.  The  obligation  to  furnish  cars  for  trans- 
portation over  through  routes  composed  of  two  or  more 
carriers  is  a  joint  one,  and  rests  upon  all  carriers  partici- 
pating in  the  route.  Each  carrier  subject  to  the  Act  is 
charged  with  the  duty  of  furnishing  cars  to  industries 
located  upon  its  line.  In  case  of  through  routes,  the  ob- 
ligation to  furnish  cars  for  shipments  to  points  upon  lines 
of  its  connections  is  joint  with  such  connections.  Gener- 
ally speaking,  however,  in  the  first  instance  the  duty  of 
furnishing  cars  rests  upon  the  originating  carrier. 

Same  subject:  Legal  rate. — One  other  important 
thing  to  be  remembered  in  the  consideration  of  through 
routes  is  that  the  through  rate  is  always  the  legal  rate. 
It  sometimes  happens  that  between  two  termini  a  com- 
bination of  local  and  other  rates  may  be  lower  than  the 
published  through  rate,  and  it  is  very  common  for  ship- 
pers to  insist  that  the  lower  rate  should  apply.  It  has 
been  conclusively  settled  for  many  years,  however,  that 
the  only  legal  rate  that  can  apply  is  the  through  rate,  and 
that  shippers  must  pay  this  rate  and  carriers  charge  it, 
or  a  violation  of  the  Act  will  result.    But  the  amended 


120  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

fourth  section  makes  unlawful  a  through  rate  that  ex- 
ceeds the  sum  of  the  intermediate  rates. 

Jurisdiction  over  routing  and  misrouting:  In  gen- 
eral.— Section  15  further  provides  that  when  a  carrier  is 
a  party  to  tariffs  carrying  through  routes  and  rates  be- 
tween two  points  the  shipper  between  those  points  may- 
specify  over  which  route  the  shipment  shall  move.  It  is 
the  duty  of  the  initial  carrier  to  route  the  property  and 
issue  a  through  bill  of  lading  therefor,  as  directed,  and  to 
transport  it  over  its  own  line  or  lines  and  deliver  to  a 
connecting  line  or  lines  according  to  such  through  route. 
It  is  the  duty  of  each  of  all  such  connecting  carriers  to 
receive  the  property  and  transport  it  over  its  line  and 
deliver  the  same  to  the  next  succeeding  carrier  or  con- 
signee, according  to  the  routing  instructions  in  the  bill 
of  lading. 

We  see,  therefore,  that  Section  15  specifically  gives  the 
shipper  the  right  to  designate  the  routing  of  the  ship- 
ment. There  is  perhaps  no  subject  that  has  caused  more 
trouble  in  the  traffic  field  than  the  routing  and  misrouting 
of  shipments.  This  subject  is  very  important  and  should 
be  studied  somewhat  in  detail. 

Where  a  carrier  routes  a  shipment  via  a  route  that 
takes  a  higher  charge  than  another  available  route,  the 
Commission  holds  that  through  the  wrongful  act  of  the 
routing  carrier  the  shipper  has  been  compelled  to  pay  a 
charge  in  excess  of  the  reasonable  rate  via  the  cheaper 
route,  and  reparation  will  be  awarded  in  the  difference 
between  said  rates  against  the  offending  carrier. 

Same  subject:  Carriers'  duty  to  transport. — By  far 
the  greater  number  of  controversies  concerning  routing 
arise  in  cases  where  the  shipper  did  not  designate  it.  It 
is,  therefore,  important  to  note  what  the  obligations  of 
the  carrier  are  as  to  routing  in  the  absence  of  shipper's 
instructions. 


SECTION  15  121 

Same  subject:  Accustomed  or  natural  route. — Very 
often  traffic  moves  naturally  over  a  certain  route.  This 
is  sometimes  because  the  originating  carrier  itself  has 
not  the  equipment  and  so  must  obtain  it  from  a  con- 
necting carrier,  which  naturally  insists  that  the  traffic 
should  move  over  its  line.  There  may  also  be  other  rea- 
sons. 

If  a  foreign  car  is  available,  which  under  rules  as  to 
car  service  must  be  sent  via  a  particular  line  or  route, 
over  which  a  higher  rate  obtains,  the  agent  must  explain 
that  fact  to  the  shipper  and  allow  him  to  elect  whether 
he  will  use  that  car  at  the  higher  rate  or  wait  for  an- 
other car.  If  the  shipper  elects  to  use  the  car  at  the 
higher  rate,  the  agent  should  so  note  on  the  bill  of  lad- 
ing. When  this  rule  is  not  complied  with,  the  carrier  is 
liable  for  misrouting.  However,  whatever  weight  may 
attach  to  what  carriers  may  in  their  own  best  interest 
regard  as  "natural  routes,"  it  cannot  overbalance  the 
right  of  consignors  to  ship  at  reasonable  and  just  rates 
over  the  lines  of  such  carriers. 

Same  subject:  Cheapest  available  route. — The  rule, 
however,  is  best  stated  to  be  that  in  the  absence  of  ship- 
ping instructions  it  is  the  duty  of  the  originating  carrier 
to  ship  via  the  cheapest  available  route. 

Same  subject:  Conflict  in  billing  between  rate  and 
route. — Very  often  shippers,  in  making  out  bills  of  lad- 
ing, designate  a  certain  route  and  a  certain  rate,  but  the 
rate  stated  does  not  apply  via  the  route  indicated.  Where 
the  shipper's  bill  of  lading  contains  instructions  both  as 
to  route  and  rate,  and  the  rate  is  not  applicable  over  any 
route  of  the  receiving  carrier,  but  is  applicable  over  the 
route  of  a  rival  carrier  to  which  the  shipments  might 
have  been  delivered,  the  receiving  carrier  may  forward 
the  shipment  over  its  own  line  at  the  lowest  rate  law- 


122  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

fully  applicable.  It  is  not  obliged  to  turn  the  traffic  over 
to  its  competitor. 

Where  a  shipper  has  written  specific  routing  instruc- 
tions in  the  bill  of  lading,  and  also  inserted  a  rate  which 
does  not  apply  over  the  route  specified,  it  is  the  duty 
of  the  initial  carrier  to  ascertain  which  route  the  shipper 
wishes  used.30  This  rule  does  not  apply,  however,  so 
as  to  charge  the  initial  carrier  with  misrouting  where  it 
fails  to  turn  over  the  shipments  to  a  competing  carrier 
with  a  lower  rate. 

Where  a  shipping  ticket  and  bill  of  lading  are  both 
executed  by  a  consignor,  it  is  commonly  the  custom  for 
the  shipping  ticket  to  be  made  out  in  accordance  with 
the  tendering  of  the  shipment  to  the  carrier.  In  order 
promptly  to  get  the  shipment  under  way,  the  carrier  re- 
lies upon  the  instructions  of  the  shipper,  as  shown  in  the 
ticket  in  executing  its  waybill.  This  custom  operates  to 
the  advantage  of  the  shipper  in  securing  prompt  trans- 
portation and  benefits  the  carrier  and  the  public  in  pre- 
venting the  terminal  congestion  and  undue  detention  of 
equipment. 

Same  subject:  Shipper's  instructions. — A  shipper 
may  offer  his  freight  without  routing  instructions,  in 
which  event  it  is  the  duty  of  the  carrier  to  route  it  via 
the  cheapest  available  practicable  route.  But  the  ship- 
per is  also  entitled,  when  for  any  reason  he  specifies  a 
particular  route,  to  have  his  shipments  move  in  accord- 
ance with  his  instructions,  at  the  established  rate  over 
that  route.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  initial  carrier  to  take 
the  necessary  steps  to  carry  out  his  routing  instructions. 
Any  carrier  misrouting  a  shipment  in  violation  of  spe- 
cific instructions  to  the  injury  of  the  shipper  violates  the 
Act  and  is  responsible  for  the  damage  thereby  caused  to 
the  shipper. 

"Conference  Ruling  286  (f). 


SECTION  15  123 

So  where  carriers  literally  observe  the  instructions 
given  for  routing,  when  the  shipment  is  reconsigned,  and 
send  the  shipment  via  the  route  designated,  and  apply 
the  through  rate  over  such  route,  the  carrier  cannot  be 
held  responsible  for  misrouting  because  it  did  not  send 
the  shipment  via  a  cheaper  available  route.  Where  the 
shipper  desires  to  prescribe  the  route  over  which  his 
property  shall  be  transported,  all  of  his  instructions  in 
that  respect  should  be  placed  upon  the  shipping  order 
given  to  the  carrier  as  well  as  upon  the  bill  of  lading 
signed  by  the  carrier  and  retained  by  the  shipper.  In 
instances  where  the  bills  of  lading  and  shipping  orders 
are  prepared  by  the  shipper,  and  the  shipper  notes  upon 
the  bill  of  lading  certain  instructions  that  he  fails  to 
note  on  the  shipping  order,  the  carrier  cannot  be  held 
liable  for  misrouting  if  it  complies  with  the  instructions 
on  the  shipping  order. 

Same  subject:  Liability  for  misrouting. — Where  rout- 
ing instructions  are  given  under  which  more  than  one 
route  may  be  selected  by  the  carriers,  the  presumption 
is  that  the  lowest  rate  will  be  applied  by  them.  The  bur- 
den is  upon  the  carrier  charged  with  misrouting  to  show 
that  it  applied  such  rate. 

Larger  lines  and  systems,  when  they  are  intermediate- 
or  connecting  carriers,  not  infrequently  relieve  small  ini- 
tial carriers  of  the  responsibility  for  correct  routing,  and 
from  the  nature  of  their  larger  traffic  and  wider  oppor- 
tunities for  knowing  what  are  the  reasonably  direct 
routes,  they  ought  in  many  cases  to  be  willing  to  do  this. 
With  respect  to  shipments  to  distant  and  unusual  points, 
it  is  not  reasonable  to  expect  that  the  initial  line,  and 
often  even  its  immediate  connections,  will  be  able  to  give 
specific  routing,  through  to  destination;  in  such  cases, 
they  ought  not  to  be  held  to  any  greater  duty  than  that 
of  indicating  the  proper  or  usual  gateway  to  destination. 


124  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

Carriers  at  fault  in  misrouting  are  liable  for  damages 
represented  by  higher  charges  than  would  have  been  law- 
fully assessable  had  the  misrouting  not  occurred.  In  this 
case,  liability  is  not  limited  to  such  damage  as  could  rea- 
sonably have  been  anticipated,  since  a  shipper  cannot  be 
deprived  through  a  carrier's  negligence  of  any  lawful 
privilege  offered  by  another  carrier,  especially  after  due 
diligence  on  Ms  part  to  secure  such  advantage. 

Jurisdiction  over  electric  lines. — Section  15,  as  we 
have  seen,  provides  that  the  Commission  shall  not  estab- 
lish through  routes  with  electric  lines  not  engaged  in  the 
general  business  of  carrying  freight  in  addition  to  their 
passenger  and  express  business.  Electric  railways  are 
common  carriers  by  railroad,  within  the  meaning  of  the 
Act,  to  the  above  extent,  and  when  engaged  in  interstate 
commerce  are  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Commis- 
sion. Naturally,  when  subject  to  the  law  it  has  the  right 
to  obtain  the  benefits  of  that  law. 

The  public,  while  it  should  not  attempt  to  protect  it- 
self against  combination  by  rail  in  so  far  as  to  prevent 
good  and  economical  service,  may  well  protect  itself 
against  the  control  of  trolley  lines  and  the  prevention  of 
competition  in  that  field.  Still,  competition  is  not  de- 
structive of  railroad  business,  proper;  certain  kinds  of 
business  can  be  done  to  better  advantage  by  the  trolley 
than  by  the  steam  road,  just  exactly  as  certain  other 
kinds  ought  to  go  by  water  rather  than  by  rail.  Public 
interest  requires  that  these  three  forms  of  transporta- 
tion should  be  kept  distinct,  so  that  each  may  operate  in 
its  own  sphere. 

This  applies  to  trolley  lines  that  are  of  reasonable  im- 
portance in  competition  against  steam  lines.  It  does  not 
apply  to  those  lines  which  may  be  constructed  by  a  steam 
railroad  in  the  extension  or  completion  of  its  own  system, 
as  the  kind  of  motive  power  is  not  significant.    A  branch 


SECTION  15  125 

line,  proper,  may  as  well  be  operated  by  electricity  as  by 
steam,  and  no  reason  is  obvious  why  the  building  of  such 
branch  lines  ought  not  to  be  in  every  legitimate  way  en- 
couraged. 

Jurisdiction  over  business  secrets. — Section  15  pro- 
vides that  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  carrier  or  any  offi- 
cer, agent,  or  employe  of  such  common  carrier,  or  for  any 
other  person  or  corporation  lawfully  authorized  by  such 
common  carrier  to  receive  information  therefrom,  know- 
ingly to  disclose  to,  or  permit  to  be  acquired  by,  any 
person  or  corporation  other  than  the  shipper  or  con- 
signee, without  the  consent  of  such  shipper  or  consignee, 
any  information  concerning  the  nature,  kind,  quantity, 
destination,  consignee,  or  routing  of  any  property  ten- 
dered or  delivered  to  such  common  carrier  for  interstate 
transportation,  which  information  may  be  used  to  the 
detriment  or  prejudice  of  such  shipper  or  consignee,  or 
which  may  improperly  disclose  his  business  transactions 
to  a  competitor.  It  is  also  unlawful  for  any  person  or 
corporation  to  solicit  or  knowingly  receive  any  informa- 
tion that  may  be  so  used. 

But  information  may  be  given  in  obedience  to  legal 
process,  or  by  a  carrier  to  another  carrier  or  its  duly  au- 
thorized agent,  for  the  purpose  of  adjusting  mutual 
traffic  accounts  in  the  ordinary  course  of  business. 

This  particular  provision  has  caused  considerable  re- 
adjustments of  those  arrangements  under  which  certain 
large  shippers  operated  facilities  of  the  railroad,  such  as 
terminals,  cars,  and  the  like.  It  has  been  held  that  under 
Section  15  it  is  unlawful  for  a  common  carrier  to  dis- 
close to  the  ultimate  consignee  the  name  of  the  original 
consignor  of  a  shipment  reconsigned  in  transit  by  the 
original  consignee.  As  a  typical  case,  it  has  been  held 
that  a  shipper  of  salt  does  not  have  to  deliver  his  ship- 
ments to  a  boat  line  controlled  by  competitor,  and  that 


126  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

such  boat  line,  although  it  publishes  rates  on  salt  in  cargo 
lots,  cannot  be  considered  a  common  carrier,  but  a  pri- 
vate facility  of  the  salt  company  by  which  it  is  owned.31 

So  where  the  tariff  of  a  carrier  provided  that  shippers 
of  single  cans  of  milk  wished  refrigeration,  they  should 
deliver  their  cans  to  competitors  operating  leased  cars, 
who  would  charge  certain  prescribed  rates.  It  was  held 
that  Section  15  of  the  Act  clearly  indicates  an  intent  upon 
the  part  of  Congress  to  secure  to  every  shipper  immunity 
from  a  disclosure  of  his  business  at  the  hands  of  a  com- 
mon carrier,  and  the  rule  referred  to  was  unlawful.32 

Arbuckle  Bros,  operate,  at  New  York  City,  their  own 
property  as  the  Jay  Street  Terminal  of  defendants. 
Complainant  is  a  competitor  of  Arbuckle  Bros.  To  meet 
its  complaint  of  unjust  discrimination  defendants  offered 
to  receive  the  sugar  of  complainant  at  the  Jay  Street 
Terminal.  It  was  held  that  to  offer  complainant  a  re- 
ceiving station  on  the  dock  of  powerful  competitors  where 
its  shipments  would  be  handled  and  billed  out  by  its  com- 
petitors, thus  exposing  to  them  the  names  of  complain- 
ants' customers,  its  markets,  and  the  course  of  its  busi- 
ness, is  a  suggestion  that  overlooks  the  duty  of  impar- 
tial service  by  defendants  to  all  their  shipping  pub- 
lic. It  violates  the  Act  as  amended,  which  makes  it  un- 
lawful for  an  interstate  carrier  to  ''disclose  his  business 
transactions  to  competitors."33 

Jurisdiction  over  water  carriers:  Discrimination  and 
rebates. — Very  often  carriers  as  well  as  shippers  use 
boat  lines  as  a  method  of  getting  lower  rates  or  to  dis- 
criminate against  competitive  shipments  or  lines.  Sev- 
eral principles  have  been  evolved  governing  situations  of 
this  character. 

"Colonial  Salt  Co.  v.  M.  I.  &  I.  Line,  23  I.  C.  C.  358,  366. 
82Albree  v.  B.  &  M.  R.  R.  Co.,  22  I.  C.  C.  303,  321. 
"Federal  Sugar  Refining  Co.  v.  B.  &  0.  R.  R.  Co.,  20  I.  C.  C.  200, 
211. 


SECTION  15  127 

A  boat  line  incorporated  as  a  common  carrier  obtained 
its  facilities  from  a  salt  company  by  which  it  was  owned 
and  in  whose  interest  it  was  operated;  it  published  no 
rates  except  upon  salt  in  cargo  lots ;  its  rates  were  manip- 
ulated for  the  benefit  of  the  salt  company  by  whose 
agents  and  employes  all  shipments  had  to  be  handled.  It 
was  held  that  the  boat  line  was  a  mere  device  to  defraud 
the  law,  and  payments  made  to  it  by  connecting  rail  car- 
riers in  the  guise  of  divisions  are  rebates.  But  a  rail- 
road line  has  the  right  to  reserve  for  certain  boat  lines 
certain  of  its  water  terminals,  provided  such  reserva- 
tions do  not  effect  discrimination  against  traffic  destined 
to  such  waterside  terminals  and  to  be  carried  therefrom 
by  other  boat  lines.34 

It  is  illegal  discrimination  for  a  rail  carrier  to  refuse 
to  issue  through  bills  of  lading,  except  as  to  certain  pre- 
ferred water  carriers.  A  railroad  may  not  have  a  pre- 
ferred line  of  steamships  to  the  exclusion  of  other  ships. 
But  a  railroad  has  the  right  to  reserve  wharves  for  its 
own  use  and  for  the  use  of  such  water  carriers  as  it  pre- 
fers, provided  it  affords,  to  the  public,  access  to  equal 
facilities  elsewhere  at  equal  rates.  Free  wharfage,  how- 
ever, is  a  legitimate  means  of  making  a  port  attractive 
to  ocean  lines,  and  parties  interested  in  pursuing  that  pol- 
icy will  be  protected  against  coercion  by  carriers. 

A  water  port  is  entitled  to  whatever  advantage  it  can 
obtain  through  transportation  by  water,  but  its  location 
does  not  entitle  it  to  lower  rates  by  rail.  Although  such 
preference  may  lawfully  be  accorded  by  a  carrier  in  the 
protection  of  its  own  interests,  it  should  not  be  acquired 
except  in  cases  where  manifest  wrong  would  otherwise 
result.  Nevertheless,  the  Commission  does  favor  the  ex- 
istence of  lower  rates  at  ports  put  into  effect  by  rail  car- 

84Mobile  Chamber  of  Commerce  v.  M.  &  0.  R.  R.  Co.,  23  I.  C.  C.  417, 
427. 


128  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

riers  to  meet  water  competition.  A  rail  carrier  may  con- 
trol or  connect  with  a  line  of  steamships  engaged  in  for- 
eign commerce,  with  which  it  may  interchange  business 
as  freely  as  with  another  rail  carrier ;  and  it  may  quote 
a  combined  rate  for  the  through  movement,  the  railroad 
company  acting  as  the  agent  of  the  steamship  company  in 
so  doing.  An  inland  carrier  may  go  into  the  foreign  ship- 
ping business  without  contravening  any  provision  of  the 
Act;  nor  is  there  anything  in  such  statute  which  denies 
to  a  rail  carrier  the  right  to  quote  a  rate  from  an  inland 
point  to  a  foreign  destination  over  its  own  through  route 
or  any  other  route.  But  with  such  carriers,  engaged  in 
foreign  business,  the  rail  carrier  has,  so  far  as  this  law 
is  concerned,  a  purely  contractual  or  proprietary  relation 
— not  a  relation  related  or  controlled  in  any  manner  by 
tins  Act. 

On  foreign  commerce  the  rate  to  be  published  with  the 
Commission  should  be  the  rate  to  the  port  and  from  the 
port — an  open  rate,  which  anyone  who  desires  to  do  so 
may  use  with  equal  advantage.  The  publication  of  such 
rate  does  not  in  any  manner  limit  the  very  valuable  priv- 
ilege of  through  billing.  Such  through  billing  should 
clearly  separate  the  liability  of  the  rail  and  the  ocean  car- 
rier, and  show  the  published  rate  of  the  inland  carrier. 
The  routing  of  the  freight,  however,  should  remain  with 
the  shipper,  and  upon  him  may  be  imposed  no  greater 
charge  to  the  port  when  his  freight  goes  by  one  ocean 
line  than  by  another.35 

Jurisdiction  over  allowances:  In  general. — Section 
15  also  provides  that  if  the  owner  of  property  trans- 
ported under  the  Act  directly  or  indirectly  renders  any 
service  connected  with  such  transportation,  or  furnishes 
any  instrumentality  used  therein,  the  charge  and  allow- 

"Cosmopolitan  Shipping  Co.  v.  Hamburg-American  Packet  Co.,  13 
I.  C.  C.  266,  281. 


SECTION  15  129 

ance  therefor  shall  be  no  more  than  is  just  and  reason- 
able ;  and  the  Commission  may,  after  hearing  on  a  com- 
plaint or  on  its  own  initiative,  determine  what  is  a  rea- 
sonable charge  as  the  maximum  to  be  paid  by  the  carrier 
or  carriers  for  the  services  so  rendered,  or  for  the  use 
of  the  instrumentality  so  furnished,  and  may  fix  the  same 
by  appropriate  order.  Section  15,  therefore,  gives  the 
Commission  the  right  to  fix  allowance  where  the  shipper 
renders  any  service  connected  with  the  transportation, 
that  is,  a  service  which  the  railroad  ought  to  perform. 

Very  often  shippers  perform  certain  services,  such  as 
the  compression  of  cotton,  repairing  of  cars,  elevation  of 
grain,  lighterage,  staking,  transfer  and  the  like,  which 
it  is  the  duty  of  carriers  to  perform.  For  various  rea- 
sons the  latter  do  not  desire  to  do  this,  but  prefer  the 
shipper  to  do  it  and  pay  him  what  is  called  an  allowance 
for  the  performance  of  such  service. 

These  allowances  have  in  the  past  been  productive  of 
a  great  deal  of  harm,  as  they  have  been  the  source  of 
rebating.  Large  shippers,  such  as  the  steel  mills,  for  in- 
stance, with  an  exhaustive  system  of  switching  cars 
among  the  various  furnaces  composing  their  plant,  force 
an  allowance  from  the  carrier  for  this  service,  claiming 
that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  carriers  to  deliver  or  take  away 
the  cars  at  the  mouth  of  the  furnace  or  at  certain  speci- 
fied points.  The  lumber  mills  operating  logging  roads 
have  forced  allowances  from  the  carriers  by  claiming 
that  it  was  their  duty  to  set  in  or  take  the  cars  from  the 
forest.  The  tonnage  of  these  shippers  is  generally  so 
large  that  the  railroad  cannot  afford  to  antagonize  them 
by  refusing  to  grant  such  allowances.  Indeed,  there  has 
been  generally  so  much  competition  to  obtain  this  ton- 
nage that  some  one  carrier  would  generally  be  only  too 
willing  to  pay  the  allowances  to  get  the  business.  Hence, 
what  one  will  do,  all  are  compelled  to  do. 


130  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

In  many  instances  the  Commission  has  held  such  allow- 
ances to  be  illegal,  and  has  ordered  the  railroads  to  dis- 
continue making  them.  This  is  a  subject  of  such  impor- 
tance in  the  traffic  field  that  it  will  be  considered  some- 
what in  detail. 

The  Commission  has  jurisdiction  over  allowances  made 
by  carriers  to  shippers  as  performing  a  transportation 
service.  Elevation  of  grain,  for  instance,  is  made  such 
a  part  of  transportation  as  to  bring  it  within  the  juris- 
diction of  the  Commission,  which  is  authorized  to  deter- 
mine what  is  a  reasonable  allowance  to  the  shipper  for 
such  service. 

Treatment  of  grain  in  the  elevators,  the  cleaning,  clip- 
ping, mixing,  inspecting,  and  grading  of  it,  are  trade 
services;  they  do  not  pertain  to  transportation.  No 
power  had  ever  been  granted  to  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission  to  regulate,  to  prohibit,  to  separate  from  the 
service  of  elevation  and  transfer  in  transit  or  from  any 
other  transportation  service  or  to  interfere  with  this 
transportation  service.  The  Commission,  however,  has 
no  power  to  forbid  carriers  from  paying  or  allowing,  for 
the  elevation  and  transfer  of  grain  in  transit,  reasonable 
compensation,  merely  because  there  is  a  possibility  of  a 
future  violation  of  the  law  arising  out  of  such  allow- 
ances. But  the  Commission  has  the  power  to  limit  and 
prescribe  the  amount  that  a  carrier  may  pay  a  shipper 
for  the  performance  of  a  part  of  the  carrier's  duty  and 
service  in  connection  with  the  transportation  of  his 
freight. 

Same  subject:  Discrimination. — A  carrier  is  not  war- 
ranted, under  Section  15,  in  making  an  allowance  to  a 
shipper  who  provides  a  facility  and  performs  a  service 
in  the  transportation  of  his  own  property,  while  refusing 
a  similar  allowance  to  another  and  competing  shipper 
who  provides  a  similar  facility  and  performs  the  same 


SECTION  15  131 

service,  in  the  transportation  of  his  property.  No  vio- 
lation of  the  Act  can  be  predicated  solely  upon  the  fact 
that  a  carrier  makes  with  one  independent  company  a 
contract  more  favorable  than  with  another  for  a  service 
which  that  carrier  is  bound  or  undertakes  to  perform. 
The  Act  deals  only  with  the  obligation  of  carriers  as  car- 
riers, and  in  no  way  attempts  to  regulate  or  interfere 
with  matters  involving  their  duties  to  shippers  or  passen- 
gers as  such.  Compression  of  cotton,  for  instance,  is  a 
service  which  the  carrier  procures  for  its  own  conveni- 
ence ;  and  when  that  service  is  performed  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  not  to  prejudice  or  prefer  a  particular  shipper  or 
community,  the  Act  does  not  limit  the  freedom  of  the  car- 
rier in  making  contracts  with  respect  thereto. 

Same  subject:  Specific  allowances. — Allowances  are 
often  made  in  connection  with  the  handling  of  specific 
commodities  and  some  of  these  specific  allowances  are 
treated  herewith. 

Compression  of  cotton. — Carriers  have  the  right  to 
compress  cotton  in  transit.  They  also  have  the  right  to 
grant  or  allow  to  shippers  or  owners  of  cotton  the  priv- 
ilege to  concentrate  uncompressed  cotton  at  designated 
compresses  on  their  lines  for  such  treatment  as  the  ship- 
pers or  owners  may  desire  to  give  it,  with  the  right  of 
the  shippers  or  owners,  or  deliver  the  cotton  back  to  the 
carriers  for  transportation  to  interstate  or  foreign  desti- 
nations at  the  through  rates  from  point  of  origin.  What- 
ever charges  are  made  must,  however,  be  just,  reason- 
able, and  non-discriminatory.  They  may  not  pay  to  com- 
press companies  any  unjust  or  unreasonable  charges. 

Cooperage  and  grain  doors. — In  a  typical  case,  com- 
plainants asked  that  defendant  be  required  to  provide  by 
published  rule  that  shippers  of  grain  may,  when  occasion 
makes  it  necessary,  cooper  the  car  that  is  furnished,  and 
recover  therefor  an  allowance  not  to  exceed  $5,  including 


132  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

an  allowance  for  grain  doors.  It  appeared  that  shippers 
of  grain  from  Washington  and  Oregon  were  furnished 
cracked  and  old  box  cars  by  defendant  for  the  carrjdng 
of  grain,  which  they  repair  themselves  in  order  to  save 
delay.  It  was  held  that  it  is  the  primary  duty  of  a  rail- 
road to  furnish  equipment  that  is  usable,  and  in  the  event 
that  the  car  furnished  is  unfit,  the  shipper  should  reject 
it  and  call  for  another. 

Allowances  of  the  kind  requested  are  of  a  dangerous 
character.  The  carrier  cannot  tell  what  the  actual 
amount  of  material  and  labor  used  by  the  shippers  was. 
The  car  is  loaded  immediately  upon  being  repaired  and 
is  sent  to  some  far  distant  point.  There  are  no  means 
of  adequately  checking  the  expenditure  of  the  shipper, 
so  that  it  becomes  extremely  easy  to  turn  such  allowances 
into  real  rebates.  It  is  a  safer  and  more  reasonable  prac- 
tice to  curtail  such  allowances  than  to  extend  them,  since 
the  Commission  cannot  in  any  way  police  such  repairs. 
It  is  a  far  wiser  policy  for  the  carriers  to  repair  their 
own  equipment  than  to  farm  it  out  to  shippers.  A  rule 
of  this  character  could  not  be  limited  to  the  repair  of  cars 
for  a  shipment  in  bulk  of  grain  without  establishing  a 
precedent  as  to  allowances  for  other  commodities. 

Elevation  of  grain. — Elevation  of  grain  is  a  privilege 
for  which  allowances  are  frequently  made.  There  are 
two  kinds  of  elevation,  one  of  which  may  be  termed  trans- 
portation elevation,  consisting  of  the  passing  of  the  grain 
through  an  elevator  for  the  purpose  of  transferring  it 
from  car  to  car  and  obtaining  its  weight.  The  other  is 
commercial  elevation.  This  involves  various  processes 
in  the  treatment  of  the  grain  itself,  such  as  cleaning,  mix- 
ing, clipping,  drying,  etc.  The  first  sort  of  elevation  is 
an  incident  to  the  transportation  of  the  grain ;  the  second, 
to  the  merchandising  of  the  grain.36 

"Elevation  Allowances,  24  I.  C.  C.  197,  199. 


SECTION  15  133 

A  carrier  has  no  right,  under  the  pretext  of  a  transfer 
which  it  does  not  require,  to  furnish  a  grain  dealer  com- 
mercial elevation,  or  what  amounts  to  the  same  thing,  to 
pay  an  elevation  allowance  for  the  commercial  elevation 
of  his  grain;  and  if  it  does  so,  it  must  accord  the  same 
privilege  or  make  the  same  payment  at  another  point.37 

Moreover,  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  separate  transpor- 
tation elevation  from  commercial  elevation.  Both  things 
are  part  of  the  same  general  process.  It  is  impossible 
to  separate  the  different  items  of  expense  and  to  say  with 
confidence  what  belongs  to  transportation  and  what  to 
commercial  elevation.  The  Commission  believes  that  the 
payment  of  all  elevation  allowances  and  the  giving  of  all 
free  elevation  should  be  prohibited,  for  in  no  other  way 
can  discrimination  be  prevented.  Every  service  of  bene- 
fit to  a  shipper  should  be  charged  for  at  a  reasonable 
sum,  and  no  charge  should  be  allowed  one  shipper  over 
another.  The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  has, 
however,  decided  that  some  sort  of  elevation  allowances 
may  be  made. 

Lighterage. — An  interesting  case  is  as  follows:  Ar- 
buckle  Bros,  operated  their  warehouse  and  property  at 
the  foot  of  Bridge  Street,  Brooklyn,  as  the  Jay  Street 
Terminal  of  the  certain  carriers.  For  the  use  of  the 
dock,  and  for  their  services  in  conducting  it  as  a  freight 
station  and  in  floating  and  lightering  shipments  between 
the  dock  and  the  regular  terminals  of  defendants  in 
Jersey  City,  Arbuckle  Bros,  received  from  defendants 
allowances  ranging  from  3  to  4-*-  cents  per  100  pounds 
on  all  merchandise  passing  through  the  terminal, 
whether  inbound  or  outbound. 

The  floats  and  barges  used  in  this  service  were  owned 
by  Arbuckle  Bros.,  and  all  persons   employed  in  the 

"Traf.  Bur.  Merchants'  Exchange  v.  C.  B.  &  Q.  R.  R.  Co.,  22  I.  C.  C. 
496,  503. 


134  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

handling  of  freight  on  the  water  as  well  as  on  the  dock 
were  on  the  payrolls  of  that  firm.  Immediately  adjoin- 
ing the  dock  property,  Arbuckle  Bros,  have  erected  a 
large  sugar  refining  plant  of  their  own.  One  third  of 
the  total  tonnage  handled  through  the  dock,  inbound  or 
outbound,  is  sugar  received  or  shipped  by  them.  The 
other  two  thirds  are  merchandise  received  or  shipped  by 
the  public  generally.  Complainant  was  a  competitor  of 
Arbuckle  Bros.,  with  its  refinery  located  at  Yonkers.  It 
shipped  its  sugar  by  a  private  transportation  agency  to 
Pier  24  and  from  thence  to  the  New  Jersey  terminals  of 
defendants,  the  same  terminals  to  which  Arbuckle  Bros, 
-deliver.  It  had  to  pay  3  cents  per  100  pounds  for  this 
service  to  the  private  agency  it  employs,  and  received  no 
allowance  from  defendants. 

It  was  held  that  when  a  carrier  undertakes  to  have  a 
terminal  operated  for  it  by  the  owner  of  the  property 
and  the  owner  happens  also  to  be  a  large  shipper  over  its 
line,  the  law  reads  into  the  agreement  between  the  car- 
rier and  the  owner  the  peremptory  requirement  that  the 
arrangement  shall  not  result  in  any  undue  and  unjust  dis- 
crimination against  other  shippers  competing  with  the 
owner  in  the  same  line  of  business ;  and  that  the  terms 
under  which  defendant  carriers  accept  the  sugar  of  Ar- 
buckle Bros,  at  their  regular  stations  west  of  the  river, 
result  in  inequalities,  preferences,  and  discrimination, 
and  are  unduly  and  unjustly  prejudicial  to  the  rights  of 
the  complainant  as  a  shipper  of  sugar  over  the  lines  of 
defendants  in  competition  with  Arbuckle  Bros,  in  the 
same  markets.38 

Same  subject:  Legality  of  allowances. — Allowances 
and  divisions  must  have  a  proper  relation  to  the  service 
performed  and  be  such  in  amount  as  not  to  effect  a  rebate 

•'Federal  Sugar  Refining  Co.  v.  B.  &  0.  R.  R.  Co.,  20  I.  C.  C.  200, 
214. 


SECTION  15  135 

to  the  industry.  Section  15  clearly  implies  that  a  just 
and  reasonable  allowance  may  be  made  to  the  owner  of 
property  transported  when  such  owner  renders  a  service 
connected  with  the  transportation,  or  furnishes  an  in- 
strumentality used  in  connection  with  it.  It  must  be  re- 
membered that  the  delivery  of  goods  to  a  carrier  and  the 
receiving  of  goods  from  a  carrier  are  duties  devolving 
upon  the  shipper,  for  which  the  carrier  cannot  be  com- 
pelled to  pay ;  and  it  is  a  violation  of  the  Act  for  the  lat- 
ter to  make  allowances  based  upon  the  performance  by 
shippers  of  services  which  shippers  are  legally  bound  to 
render  for  themselves.  The  fact  that  the  rails,  locomo- 
tives, and  cars  of  an  industry  have  been  turned  over  to 
an  incorporated  railroad  company,  owned  and  operated 
by  the  industry  or  in  its  interest,  does  not  divest  those 
appliances  of  their  character  as  a  plant  facility,  if  such 
in  fact  is  the  case.  If  the  rails  were  laid  and  the  equip- 
ment acquired  for  the  use  of  the  industry  as  a  facility 
in  the  process  of  manufacture  and  production,  and  are 
so  used,  the  fact  that  some  outside  traffic  may  be  carried 
over  the  same  rails  does  not  modify  the  character  of 
what  is  done  over  them  for  the  industry.  If  in  such  a 
case  the  tracks  and  equipment  are  a  facility  of  the  plant 
and  are  so  used  in  the  process  of  manufacture,  what  is 
thus  done  for  the  controlling  industry  cannot  be  regarded 
as  a  service  of  transportation.  It  is  clear  that  a  division 
allowed  by  a  public  carrier  out  of  the  rate  under  such 
circumstances  is  a  rebate  to  the  industry.  The  test  is : 
What  is  the  real  relation  to  the  industry  of  the  tap  line? 
The  common  ownership  of  an  industry  and  a  short  line 
serving  it  is  not  in  itself  sufficient  to  divest  the  railroad 
of  its  status  as  a  common  carrier. 

In  the  matter  of  making  allowances  for  services  ren- 
dered in  connection  with  transportation,  the  only  services 
of  the  shipper  that  can  be  compensated  for  by  the  carrier 


136  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

under  the  Act  are  such  as  are  rendered  by  the  shipper 
after  the  carrier's  duty  to  take  and  transport  the  goods 
has  begun. 

It  is  true  that  under  Section  15  allowances  are  fre- 
quently made  by  a  trunk  line  to  an  industry  for  services 
rendered  by  a  line  owned  by  the  latter  or  its  stockhold- 
ers, as  an  instrumentality  furnished  by  the  shipper.  But 
in  such  case  the  only  concern  of  the  Commission  is  to 
satisfy  itself  that  the  allowances  are  not  above  the  rea- 
sonable cost  of  the  service,  and,  therefore,  are  not  indi- 
rectly a  rebate  of  a  part  of  the  trunk  line's  charge  to  the 
owning  industry,  through  the  medium  of  the  latter 's 
railway. 

Same  subject:  Plant  facility. — The  following  cases 
illustrate  what  services  by  the  shipper  are  not  the  per- 
formance of  a  transportation  service.  Formerly,  car- 
riers delivered  loaded  cars  to  complainant's  exchange 
tracks  at  Catasauqua.  Complainant  constructed  tracks 
leading  from  the  exchange  tracks  into  its  yards,  and  sup- 
plied locomotives  to  draw  the  loaded  cars  into  its  yards 
and  to  return  loaded  cars  of  its  own  products.  Later, 
other  industries  grew  up  beyond  complainant's  plant, 
and  complainant  extended  its  tracks  to  such  industries 
and  charged  them  a  stipulated  price  per  car  for  moving 
cars  to  and  from  defendant's  terminal.  Said  other  in- 
dustries were  allowed  compensation  for  the  service  that 
they  secured  from  complainant.  Subsequently,  complain- 
ant incorporated  its  private  railroad  and  demanded  that 
defendants  make  it  an  allowance  for  hauling  cars  back 
and  forth  between  complainant's  yards  and  its  team 
tracks. 

It  was  held  that  the  service  was  not  one  which  defend- 
ants owed  complainant  a  duty  to  perform ;  that  defend- 
ants might  properly  allow  to  other  industries  compensa- 
tion for  the  hauling  of  cars  to  their  plants,  since  such 


SECTION  15  13T 

service  was  merely  the  equivalent  of  the  service  rendered 
by  defendants  in  placing  the  cars  on  complainant's  ex- 
change tracts ;  and  that  complainant  was  not  entitled  to 
compensation  for  the  service  rendered  by  its  railroad, 
such  service  being  in  the  nature  of  a  plant  facility.39 

Complainant,  General  Electric  Company  of  Schenec- 
tady, New  York,  filed  a  complaint  against  the  New  York 
Central  &  Hudson  River  Railroad  to  determine  its 
right  to  receive  an  allowance  from  defendant  rail- 
road for  services  performed  by  complainant  in 
moving  empty  and  loaded  cars  between  the  stor- 
age tracks  and  complainant's  factories  and  shops. 
Its  factory  and  shop  yard  occupies  some  180  acres 
of  land,  and  there  were  about  140  buildings.  It  had 
constructed  3  miles  of  storage  together  with  connecting 
switch  tracks  of  standard  gauge,  aggregating  12  miles  in 
length  and  occupying  some  23  acres  of  land ;  and  in  addi- 
tion thereto  had  laid  7  miles  of  narrow  gauge  electric 
tracks  crossing  and  recrossing  the  standard  gauge  sys- 
tem. The  switch  tracks  leading  to  complainant's  indus- 
tries were  from  400  to  500  feet  long.  Defendants  had  no 
right  and  under  the  circumstances  it  was  impossible  for 
them  to  make  use  of  complainant's  network  of  tracks, 
which  was  under  the  exclusive  control  of  complainant. 
Complainant  used  its  own  locomotives  and  electric  mo- 
tors in  moving  loaded  and  unloaded  cars  in  its  yard,  and 
performed  about  112,000  carload  movements  a  year.  De- 
fendants had  been  long  accustomed  to  move  cars  free  of 
charge  between  their  tracks  and  factories  of  other  ship- 
pers at  Schenectady.  For  some  12  years  defendants, 
under  an  agreement,  had  been  allowing  compensation  for 
the  service  performed  by  complainant.  It  was  held  that 
defendants  owed  no  duty  to  move  the  cars  over  complain- 
ant's  network  of  tracks,  and  complainant  was  not  entitled 

"Crane  Iron  Works  v.  Central  R.  R.  Co.,  17  I.  C.  C.  614,  518-520. 


138  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

and  could  not  be  permitted  to  receive  compensation 
therefor.40 

It  must  not  be  considered,  however,  that  all  allowances 
to  tap  lines  are  rebates,  merely  because  in  certain  in- 
stances the  Supreme  Court  has  specifically  held  that  they 
are  not. 

Tap  lines  connecting  timber  districts  and  lumber  mills 
with  trunk  lines  are  common  carriers  of  proprietary  as 
well  as  non-proprietary  lumber.  As  such  they  are  en- 
titled to  participate  in  joint  rates,  where  the  fact  that  the 
tracks  are  owned  by  the  persons  who  also  own  the  timber 
and  mills  that  they  principally  serve  is  not  shown  to  be 
inconsistent  with  the  laws  of  the  state  in  which  they  are 
organized  and  operated,  lumber  being  excepted  from  the 
commodities  clause.41 

Lumber  being  excepted  from  the  commodities  clause,  it 
was  held,  affirming  the  decision  of  the  Commerce  Court, 
that  a  tap  line  is  entitled  to  the  same  allowance  from  a 
trunk  line  out  of  the  joint  through  rate  for  logs  and  lum- 
ber offered  the  tap  line  by  its  proprietary  company,  that 
it  receives  out  of  the  rate  for  non-proprietary  logs  and 
lumber.42 

Same  subject:  Allowances  as  rebates. — If  there  is  a 
holding  out  as  a  common  carrier  for  hire,  and  if  there  is 
an  ostensible  and  actual  movement  of  traffic  for  the  pub- 
lic for  hire,  the  status  of  a  common  carrier  exists, 
whether  the  holding  out  is  by  a  company  or  by  an  individ- 
ual. But  such  a  holding  out  and  the  existence  of  an  actual 
traffic  are  not  conclusive  in  all  cases.  Where  the  holding 
out  is  in  furtherance  of  the  development  of  a  plant  facil- 
ity and  the  alleged  carrier  is  able  to  pick  up  some  traffic 

"Gen.  Elec.  Co.  v.  N.  Y.  C.  &  H.  R.  R.  R.  Co.,  14  I.  C.  C.  237,  242, 
243   244 
"U.  S.'v.  L.  &  P.  Ry.  Co.,  234  U.  S.  1. 
"U.  S.  v.  Butler  County  R.  R.  Co.,  234  U.  S.  29. 


SECTION  15  139 

that  is  incidental  to  that  purpose,  it  must  be  regarded 
simply  as  a  cloak  or  device  to  effect  unlawful  results.43 
The  mere  fact  that  a  railroad  is  owned  by  a  corporation 
which  also  owns  the  stock  of  the  largest  shipper  over  it, 
and  that  it  was  originally  organized  and  built  for  the 
purpose  of  doing  the  work  of  that  shipper,  is  not  con- 
trolling against  its  being  held  a  common  carrier.  But 
such  a  situation  calls  for  the  closest  scrutiny  of  all 
charges  and  practices  to  ascertain  whether  there  is  un- 
due discrimination  through  divisions  of  allowances  that 
are  the  equivalent  of  rebates  to  the  shipping  owner.44 

Same  subject:  Criminal  liability. — It  is  important  to 
note,  in  addition  to  the  general  principles  which  have 
been  discussed,  that  there  is  a  criminal  liability  under 
both  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act  and  the  Elkins  Act 
for  the  giving  of  rebates  in  the  shape  of  allowances.  This 
subject  is  discussed  more  in  detail  under  Section  10,  and 
in  the  treatment  of  the  Elkins  Act. 


•Tap  Line  Case,  23  I.  C.  C.  277,  292. 

"Crane  B.  R.  Co.  v.  P.  &  B.  B.  Co.,  15  I.  C.  C.  248,  252. 


SECTION  16 
1.    Reparation 

Jurisdiction  of  Commission. — Section  16  provides  that 
if,  after  hearing  on  a  complaint,  the  Commission  shall 
determine  that  any  party  complainant  is  entitled  to  an 
award  of  damages  under  the  provisions  of  the  Act  for  a 
violation  thereof,  it  shall  make  an  order  directing  the 
carrier  to  pay  to  the  complainant  the  sum  to  which  he  is 
entitled  on  or  before  a  day  named. 

If  the  carrier  does  not  comply  with  the  order  within 
the  time  limit  specified,  the  complainant,  or  any  person 
for  whose  benefit  such  order  was  made,  may  file  in  a 
United  States  court  a  petition  setting  forth  briefly  the 
causes  for  which  he  claims  damages,  and  the  order  of  the 
Commission  in  the  premises.  Such  suit  then  proceeds  in 
all  respects  like  other  civil  suits  for  damages,  except  that 
on  the  trial  the  findings  and  order  of  the  Commission  are 
prima  facie1  evidence  of  the  facts  therein  stated,  and 
except  that  the  petitioner  is  not  liable  for  costs  either 
in  the  trial  court  or  at  any  subsequent  stage  of  the  pro- 
ceedings, unless  they  accrue  upon  his  appeal.  If  the 
petitioner  finally  wins,  he  is  allowed  a  reasonable  attor- 
ney's fee,  taxed  and  collected  as  a  part  of  the  costs  of  the 
suit.  All  complaints  for  the  recovery  of  damages  must 
be  filed,  however,  with  the  Commission  not  later  than  two 
years  from  the  time  the  cause  of  action  accrues.  A  peti- 
tion for  the  enforcement  of  an  order  for  reparation  must 
be  filed  in  the  court  not  later  than  one  year  from  the  date 
of  the  order. 

*That  is,  they  will  be  accepted  without  question. 

140 


SECTION  16  141 

Under  Section  16,  the  Commission  is  given  the  right 
to  award  damages  for  a  violation  of  the  Act.  As  this 
power  is  an  important  one  and  frequently  invoked,  it  will 
be  considered  somewhat  in  detail. 

Necessity  of  primary  action  by  Commission. — Before 
a  shipper  can  obtain  redress  for  a  violation  of  the  Act, 
it  is  necessary  that  the  Commission  determine  that  the 
Act  has  been  violated;  it  can  then  award  damages.2  In 
giving  the  Commission  jurisdiction  over  reparation,  it 
was  the  manifest  intent  of  Congress  to  provide  shippers 
with  a  method  of  obtaining  an  award  of  damages  other 
than  by  the  expensive  and  tedious  process  of  the  law. 

The  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  has  power  to  de- 
termine the  reasonableness  of  rates,  and  likewise  is 
authorized  to  award  reparation. 

Where  the  rates  charged  were  those  which  had  been 
duly  fixed  by  the  carrier  according  to  the  Act,  and  had 
not  been  found  to  be  unreasonable  by  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Commission,  a  shipper  cannot  maintain  an  action 
at  law  in  the  courts  for  excessive  and  unreasonable 
freight  charges  exacted  on  interstate  shipments.  But 
where  the  Commission  finds  the  rate  exacted  to  have  been 
unreasonable,  it  may  award  as  reparation  the  difference 
between  that  rate  and  the  one  which  is  reasonable,  not- 
withstanding the  former  was  the  rate  duly  established  by 
the  carrier  for  the  time  being.3 

The  Act  confers  authority  on  the  Commission  to  in- 
vestigate complaints  alleging  unreasonable  charges,  and, 
after  full  hearing  on  formal  complaint,  to  condemn  such 
charges  as  are  found  to  have  been  unreasonable,  and 
to  award  reparation  thereunder.4  The  Commission  is 
authorized  to  award  reparation  to  any  person  or  persons 

2See  "Procedure  Before  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission." 
•Allen  &  Co.  v.  C.  M.  &  St.  P.  Ry.  Co.,  16  I.  C.  C.  293,  295. 
4Swift  &  Co.  v.  C.  &  A.  R.  R.  Co.,  16  I.  C.  C.  426,  428. 


'C 


142  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

found  to  be  damaged  through  a  violation  of  the  Act  by 
any  common  carrier  subject  to  its  provisions. 

The  jurisdiction  and  authority  of  the  Commission  is 
well  settled  in  respect  to  its  power  to  award  damages 
where  the  published  rate  has  been  observed  by  the  car- 
rier, but  such  rate  has  been  declared  unreasonable.  To 
hold  that  the  publication  of  rates  is  conclusive  of  their 
reasonableness  would  go  far  toward  defeating  one  of  the 
leading  purposes  of  the  Act.5 

Necessity  and  effect  of  finding  of  unreasonableness. — 
Before  the  Commission  can  award  damages  for  the  exac- 
tion of  an  unreasonable  rate  it  must  make  a  finding  that 
the  rate  is  unreasonable. 

The  question  as  to  whether  or  not  rates  are  unreason- 
able or  discriminatory  is  vitally  related  to  all  questions  of 
reparation  for  their  exaction.6 

Where  the  Commission  has  found  a  rate  unreasonable, 
it  cannot  deny  reparation  on  shipments  made  prior  to 
the  filing  of  the  complaint  but  within  the  limitation 
period  on  the  ground  that  the  shipper  was  guilty  of 
laches7  in  bringing  the  complaint,  at  the  same  time  grant- 
ing reparation  on  shipments  made  subsequent  to  the  filing 
of  the  complaint.8 

The  Commission  has  no  right  to  demand  of  the  shipper, 
as  a  prerequisite  to  an  order  of  reparation,  "conclusive 
proof"  of  the  unreasonableness  in  the  past  of  the  rate 
complained  of,  a  preponderance  of  the  credible  evi- 
dence being  sufficient.9 

The  Commission  has  authority  to  award  reparation  to 
a  shipper  from  whom  has  been  exacted  a  rate  in  excess  of 

'Nicola,  Stone  &  Myers  Co.  v.  L.  &  N.  R.  R.  Co.,  14  I.  C.  C.  199,  204. 

"Phillips  Co.  v.  G.  T.  W.  Ry.  Co.,  195  Fed.  12,  18. 

7A  legal  term  meaning  such  an  unreasonable  delay  in  asserting  an 
alleged  right  as  should  equitably  debar  the  party. 

8Russe  &  Burgess  v.  I.  C.  C,  193  Fed.  678,  680;  Thompson  Lum- 
ber Co.  v.  I.  C.  C,  193  Fed.  682,  683. 

'Thompson  Lumber  Co.  v.  I.  C.  C,  193  Fed.  682,  683. 


SECTION  16  14a 

the  lawfully  published  schedule  rate,  and  this  without  a 
determination  on  its  part  that  the  rate  exacted  is  unrea- 
sonable.10 

It  would  be  a  manifestly  harsh  rule  that  would  assume 
a  rate  now  condemned  as  unreasonable  to  have  been  so 
for  two  years,  or  would  fix  the  Statute  of  Limitations  in 
the  past  as  a  basis  for  the  payment  of  money  by  the  car- 
riers on  past  shipments,  especially  when  no  complaint 
had  been  made  against  them  in  that  period.  The  law 
established  no  such  presumption  nor  is  it  a  necessary 
sequence  that  the  rate  has  been  unreasonable  for  any 
period  in  the  past.  Neither  does  it  seem  that  the  bona 
fide  action  of  the  carriers  in  the  necessary  exercise  of 
their  judgment  within  reasonable  limits  should  always  be 
at  their  peril — that  they  should  be  liable  for  reparation 
for  the  difference  between  rates  initiated  upon  their  judg- 
ment and  those  later  changed  upon  the  judgment  of  the 
Commission. 

The  awarding  of  reparation  by  no  means  necessarily 
follows  the  reduction  of  a  rate,  whether  by  the  voluntary 
action  of  the  carriers  or  by  order  of  the  Commission. 
Whatever  may  be  the  nature  of  the  facts,  circumstances, 
and  conditions  appearing  in  a  particular  case  where 
reparation  is  involved,  whether  on  account  of  excessive 
rates  or  unjust  discrimination,  there  must  be  such  degree 
of  certainty  and  satisfactory  conviction  in  the  mind  and 
judgment  of  the  Commission  as  would  be  deemed  neces- 
sary under  the  well-established  principles  of  law  as  a 
basis  for  a  judgment  in  court.  1X 

When  the  Commission  reduces  a  rate,  it  does  not  neces- 
sarily follow  that  it  will  award  reparation  on  the  basis  of 
the  new  rate.    There  is  no  conclusive  presumption  that  a 

"C.  B.  &  Q.  R.  E.  Co.  v.  Feintuch,  191  Fed.  482,  486. 
"Anadarko  Cotton  Oil  Co.  v.  A.  T.  &  S.  F.  R.  R.  Co.,  20  I.  C.  C.  43^ 
50,  51. 


144  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

rate  reasonable  today  was  reasonable  a  year  before  or  a 
day  before,  since  reasonable  rates  vary  from  time  to  time, 
and  some  point  of  division  must  be  found.  Where,  there- 
fore, rates  have  been  established  and  maintained  by  the 
carriers  in  good  faith,  especially  where  they  have  been 
long  in  effect  and  acquiesced  in  by  shippers  without  pro- 
test, the  Commission  will  not  award  reparation  even  if 
the  rate  is  reduced,  unless  it  clearly  appears  that  the 
rates  paid  in  the  past  have  been  excessive.12 

When  the  Commission  reduces  a  rate  and  prescribes 
what  will  be  the  just  and  reasonable  rate  or  rates  to  be 
thereafter  observed  in  such  a  case  as  the  maximum  to  be 
charged,  it  does  not  necessarily  follow  that  for  any  length 
of  time  prior  to  the  date  of  the  opinion  reparation  will  be 
awarded  upon  the  basis  of  the  rate  so  prescribed.13 

The  Act  authorizes  the  Commission  to  condemn  an  un- 
reasonable rate,  to  prescribe  a  rate  to  be  applied  in  lieu 
thereof,  and  to  award  damages  under  the  rate  so  con- 
demned; but  in  all  proceedings  before  the  Commission, 
both  formal  and  informal,  the  essential  prerequisite  to 
any  award  of  damages  is  the  condemnation  of  a  rate, 
rule,  or  procedure  that  is  made  the  basis  of  such  award.14 

While  the  Act  requires  carriers  to  establish,  file,  and 
publish  their  rates,  and  commands  their  strict  observ- 
ance, such  publication  of  rates  is  not  conclusive  of  their 
reasonableness.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  Commission  to 
award  reparation  for  duly  proved  damages  to  the  parties 
injured  by  the  exaction  from  them  of  unreasonable  and 
unjust  charges,  notwithstanding  such  charges  may  be  in 
accordance  with  the  published  rates.15 

"Penrod  Walnut  &  Veneer  Co.  v.  C.  B.  &  Q.  R.  R.  Co.,  15  I.  C.  C. 

-326,  328. 

"Morse  Produce  Co.  v.  C.  M.  &  St.  P.  Ry.  Co.,  15  I.  C.  C.  334,  338. 
"Pueblo  Transportation  Ass'n  v.  S.  P.  Co.,  14  I.  C.  C.  82,  84. 
"Nicola,  Stone  &  Myers  Co.  v.  L.  &  N.  R.  R.  Co.,  14  I.  C.  C.  199,  204. 


SECTION  16  145 

The  Commission  has  no  jurisdiction  to  make  orders  for 
reparation  on  account  of  any  alleged  excessive  rate  ex- 
cept when,  upon  complaint,  notice  to  the  defendants,  and 
full  hearing,  such  rate  has  been  challenged  and  found  to 
be  unreasonable.16 

Until  the  question  of  the  reasonableness  of  the  rates 
shall  be  determined,  no  orders  for  reparation  will  be  en- 
tered on  account  of  the  alleged  exaction  of  excessive 
charges  on  shipments  from  points  of  origin  to  destina- 
tions not  involved  in  the  former  proceedings.17 

Carriers  are  not  entitled  to  resist  an  award  of  repara- 
tion for  exactions  made  under  a  rate  found  to  be  unrea- 
sonable on  the  ground  that  the  shippers  were  not  them- 
selves damaged,  but  simply  added  the  excess  to  the  sell- 
ing price,  thereby  casting  the  damage  upon  the  public. 
Wherever  an  unlawful  and  unreasonable  rate  is  exacted^ 
the  shipper  is  entitled  to  reparation,  without  the  tri- 
bunal's inquiring  beyond  the  fact  itself  of  the  unreason- 
able exaction.18 

Power  to  award  tort  damage. — While  the  Commis- 
sion has  power  to  award  reparation  for  a  violation  of  the 
Act,  it  has  no  power  to  award  damages  growing  out  of 
the  carrier's  default  in  some  other  respect.  For  instance, 
the  Commission  has  no  power  to  award  damages  for  in- 
jury to  shipments,  because  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act 
does  not  compel  the  carrier  safely  to  transport  the  goods. 
A  few  instances  will  be  illustrative. 

Depreciation  of  real  estate  values  and  loss  of  tenants 
on  account  of  the  discontinuance  of  a  passenger  station 
and  train  service  thereat,  are  not  such  damages  as  are 
cognizable  by  the  Commission.19 

"Nicola,  Stone  &  Myers  Co.  v.  L.  &  N.  E.  R.  Co.,  14  I.  C.  C.  199, 
206. 

"Nicola,  Stone  &  Myers  Co.  v.  L.  &  N.  R.  R.  Co.,  14  I.  C.  C.  199, 
205. 

"Burgess  v.  Transcontinental  Freight  Bur.,  13  I.  C.  C.  668,  679,  680. 

"Mattison  v.  Penn.  R.  R.  Co.,  23  I.  C.  C.  233,  235. 


146  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

Complainant  shipped  by  barge  from  Breveport,  Missis- 
sippi, to  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  a  cargo  of  rough  oak,  gum,  and 
cypress  lumber.  Upon  arrival  at  Cincinnati,  it  was  trans- 
ferred into  37  cars,  and  charges  based  on  a  weight  of 
1,053,200  pounds  were  assessed.  Complainant  alleged 
that,  owing  to  negligent  handling  at  Cincinnati,  the  lum- 
ber when  loaded  into  the  cars  was  allowed  to  get  wet 
and  absorbed  water  to  the  extent  of  148,723  pounds.  At 
destination,  complainant  weighed  dry  1,000  feet  of  each 
kind  of  lumber  shipped,  applied  such  weights  to  the  re- 
spective aggregate  number  of  feet  in  the  cars,  and  ob- 
tained an  estimated  dry  weight  of  904,477  pounds.  It 
asked  reparation  for  the  difference  between  such  esti- 
mated dry  weight  and  the  billed  weight.  It  was  held 
that  the  Commission  is  without  authority  under  the  Act 
to  award  damages  for  negligence  of  the  kind  here  alleged, 
such  matters  being  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  courts.20 

Neither  are  damages  due  to  inability  to  compete  in 
common  market  the  subject  of  reparation.  Damages 
such  as  decline  in  the  market  price  of  a  commodity  and 
lost  commission  for  sale  of  such  commodity  due  to  the 
negligence  of  a  carrier  in  not  obeying  reconsignment  in- 
structions, are  not  matters  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Commission.  The  Commission  has  no  power  to  award 
damages  to  a  shipper  for  loss  of  business  and  the  cancel- 
lation of  contracts  of  sale  resulting  from  the  granting  by 
a  carrier  of  an  unjustly  discriminatory  rate  to  the  ship- 
per's competitor.  In  such  a  case,  resort  must  be  had  to 
the  courts.  Since  the  Commission  has  no  jurisdiction 
over  loss  and  damage  claims  not  arising  from  any  duty 
imposed  on  the  carrier  by  the  Act,  such  as  destruction  of 
property  from  accident,  loss  by  stealing  or  fire,  etc., 
reparation  should  be  refused  for  shrinkage  in  cattle  due 

^Buffalo  Hardwood  Lumber  Co.  v.  B.  &  O.  R.  R.  Co.,  21  I.  C.  C. 

536,  538. 


SECTION  16  147 

to  delay  in  shipment  caused  by  washouts  on  the  carrier's 
lines. 

Right  to  recover  and  necessity  of  protest. — In  a  suit 
in  the  courts  for  damages  against  a  carrier  for  unjust 
discrimination  in  granting  rebates  to  a  competing  ship- 
per, a  protest  by  the  plaintiff  against  the  payment  of 
charges  assessed  on  his  shipments  is  not  prerequisite  to 
recovery. 

In  view  of  the  necessary  relations  between  the  carrier 
and  shipper,  many  factors  place  the  parties  upon  an  un- 
equal footing,  so  as  to  relieve  the  shipper  from  the  neces- 
sity of  protest  against  the  payment  of  an  unlawful  rate. 
Some  of  these  factors  are:  (1)  The  dependence  in  mod- 
ern business  life  of  the  latter  upon  the  former;  (2)  the 
right  and  duty  of  the  carrier  in  the  first  instance  to  fix 
its  charges;  (3)  its  obligation  to  adhere  to  the  same  until 
it  be  altered  in  the  manner  prescribed  by  law;  and  (4)  its 
right  to  enforce  such  charges  by  retaining  possession  of 
the  freight  transported,  or  to  demand  payment  of  the 
freight  charges  as  a  prerequisite  to  the  transportation. 
Moreover,  inasmuch  as  proceedings  for  reparation  for 
damages  before  the  Commission  are  purely  statutory  and 
correspond  to  actions  at  law  in  tort,21  the  violation  of  the 
law  produces  the  injury  and  completes  the  offense,  so 
that  the  person  injured  does  not  have  to  perform  any 
conditions  to  entitle  him  to  recover  for  the  damage  sus- 
tained. For  this  reason  protest  upon  payment  of  the 
unlawful  rate  is  unnecessary. 

Necessity  of  first  paying  tariff  rate. — It  is  not  the 
policy  of  the  Commission  to  award  reparation  where 
lawful  charges  have  not  been  paid.  Hence,  before  bring- 
ing any  complaint  to  the  attention  of  the  Commission,  it 
is  advisable  that  all  the  freight  charges  be  paid  first. 

"A  tort  is  a  private  wrong.  Actions  in  tort  are  for  injuries  sus- 
tained through  wrongful  act  other  than  breach  of  contract. 


148  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

Parties  entitled  to  recover. — Unless  reparation  was 
claimed  in  the  complaint  upon  which  snch  decision  was 
based,  or  was  awarded  by  the  Commission,  claims  for 
reparation  based  upon  a  decision  of  the  Commission  filed 
by  complainants  not  parties  to  the  case  in  which  such 
decision  was  rendered  will  not  ordinarily  be  allowed. 
The  Commission  may,  however,  in  the  exercise  of  its  dis- 
cretion, upon  good  cause  shown,  and  under  unusual  cir- 
cumstances, specially  consider  a  particular  claim  for 
reparation  of  this  class. 

The  court  cases  holding  that  either  the  consignor  or 
the  consignee  may  sue  in  case  of  loss  or  damage  or  breach 
of  the  contract  of  affreightment,  mean  that  each  has  a 
beneficial  interest  to  the  extent  of  making  either  of  them 
a  proper  party  plaintiff  in  such  proceeding.  These  cases 
do  not  in  any  way  controvert  the  principle  announced  by 
the  Commission — that  the  party  paying  the  excessive 
charge  is  the  one  entitled  to  an  award  of  reparation  on 
finding  that  the  rate  charged  is  unreasonable  and  there- 
fore unlawful. 

The  well-settled  rule  of  the  Commission  is  that  the 
party  who  has  been  required  to  pay  an  unlawful  rate  is 
the  party  to  whom  reparation  should  be  awarded.  The 
person  who  handles  produce  on  consignment  is  not  en- 
titled to  it. 

In  any  given  case,  reparation  is  due  the  person  who  has 
been  required  to  pay  an  unlawful  charge.  A  shipper  who 
has  paid  such  a  charge  and  is  the  owner  of  the  goods 
transported  is  entitled  to  repayment,  without  the  imposi- 
tion of  the  impossible  task  upon  the  Commission  of  ascer- 
taining the  ultimate  profits  which  accrued  from  his 
business.  He  is  entitled  to  reparation  irrespective  of  his 
profits.22 

"Kindelon  v.  S.  P.  Co.,  17  I.  C.  C.  251,  255. 


SECTION  16  149 

Statute  of  Limitations. — The  period  of  two  years  pre- 
scribed by  the  statute  within  which  the  Commission  is 
allowed  to  award  damages  for  acts  arising  under  viola- 
tions of  the  provisions  of  the  Act,  begins  to  run  at  the 
time  when  the  shipment  is  delivered  and  when  it  becomes 
the  legal  duty  of  the  carrier  to  collect  its  lawful  charge — 
not  at  the  time  of  the  payment  of  the  freight  by  the 
shipper. 

In  a  typical  case,  shipments  moved  in  October  and 
November,  1906,  but  on  account  of  a  controversy  as  to 
the  rates  lawfully  applicable,  the  payment  of  charges  was 
delayed  until  June  3, 1909.  Complaint  was  not  filed  until 
August  17, 1909.  It  was  held  that,23  more  than  two  years 
having  elapsed  between  the  delivery  of  the  shipments 
and  the  institution  of  proceedings,  the  claims  were 
barred.24 

Method  of  obtaining  reparation. — There  are  two 
courses  of  procedure  for  the  obtaining  of  reparation. 
One  is  the  filing  of  what  is  called  a  formal  complaint,  and 
the  other,  an  informal  complaint.  An  informal  complaint 
is  filed  in  a  case  where  the  carrier  admits  that  it  has  vio- 
lated the  Act  and  is  willing  to  make  reparation  to  the 
injured  party.  In  such  cases  it  signs  with  the  complain- 
ant the  petition  presented  to  the  Commission,  and  asks 
permission  from  the  Commission  to  make  reparation. 
The  other  case,  that  of  a  formal  complaint,  arises 
in  contested  cases,  where  the  carrier  will  not  admit  that 
it  is  at  fault.  An  important  thing  to  remember  is  that 
in  the  complaint  alleging  discrimination,  the  exaction  of 
an  unreasonable  rate,  or  the  like,  the  complainant  must 
demand  reparation.  Otherwise,  damages  cannot  after- 
wards be  obtained,  even  if  the  rate  or  practice  is  ad- 
judged to  be  in  violation  of  the  Act. 

"Following  Blinn  Lumber  Co.  v.  S.  P.  Co.,  18  I.  C.  C.  430. 
"Blodgett  Milling  Co.  v.  C.  I.  &  S.  R.  R.  Co.,  18  I.  C.  C.  439. 


150  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

No  reparation  will  be  awarded  on  informal  proceedings 
which  would  not  be  awarded  under  the  same  set  of  facts 
in  a  contested  case.  The  Commission  cannot  accept  as 
conclusive  any  stipulation  of  parties  as  to  the  reasonable- 
ness of  a  rate  or  a  transportation  regulation.  The  Com- 
mission's conclusions  on  such  matters  must  be  reached 
with  due  consideration  for  the  conclusions  which  it  has 
already  announced  on  the  same  subject,  and  for  the 
knowledge  which  it  has  already  gathered  or  announced 
on  the  same  subject.  The  willingness  of  a  shipper  to  re- 
ceive and  of  a  carrier  to  pay  reparation  upon  certain 
traffic,  or  under  certain  rates,  can  be  approved  by  the 
Commission  only  under  a  clear  and  decisive  showing  of 
facts  that  would  lead  the  Commission  to  award  that 
reparation  in  opposition  to  the  carrier's  wishes.  It  must 
be  prepared  to  award  reparation  to  all  others  who  might 
have  shipped  during  the  same  period  under  the  same  rate 
and  under  substantially  similar  circumstances  and  condi- 
tions.25 

Court  pleadings. — Often  the  Commission  awards  rep- 
aration but  the  railroads  refuse  to  obey  the  order  of  the 
Commission.  It  is  then  necessary  to  bring  an  action  in 
the  courts,  based  on  the  award  of  the  Commission.  In 
such  cases,  Section  16  makes  the  findings  of  the  Commis- 
sion prima  facie  evidence  of  the  fact  therein  stated. 

In  a  suit  in  a  state  court  to  recover  reparation  for  un- 
just discrimination,  the  court  is  not  required  by  Section 
14  of  the  Act  to  take  judicial  notice  of  the  decisions  of 
the  Commission  where  they  are  not  mentioned  in  the 
pleadings  or  in  the  agreed  statement  of  facts.  This  pro- 
vision makes  the  decisions  of  the  Commission  as  pub- 
lished admissible  in  evidence  without  other  proof  of  their 

"Swift  &  Co.  v.  C.  &  A.  E.  R.  Co.,  16  I.  C.  C.  426,  428. 


SECTION  16  151 

genuineness,  but  does  not  relieve  litigants  from  the  neces- 
sity of  offering  them  in  evidence.26 

In  a  suit  in  a  United  States  circuit  court  to  recover  the 
excess  of  freight  charges  exacted  above  the  published 
rate,  the  declaration  failed  in  terms  to  state  the  particu- 
lar rates  that  had  been  passed  upon  by  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Commission,  but  indicated  that  it  was  the  pur- 
pose of  plaintiff  to  incorporate  by  reference  the  pertinent 
facts  of  the  decisions  into  the  declaration.  It  was  held 
that  in  determining  the  sufficiency  of  the  declaration 
upon  demurrer,  the  court  might  examine  the  facts  set  out 
in  the  decisions  referred  to.27  Any  order  of  award,  con- 
clusion, opinion,  or  argument  of  the  Commission  must  be 
eliminated  in  determining  the  sufficiency  of  a  declaration 
which  includes  said  report,  since  only  facts  found  by  the 
Commission  and  alleged  in  the  declaration  can  be  con- 
sidered in  deciding  whether  or  not  a  cause  of  action  is 
stated.  This  ruling  is  based  on  Section  14  of  the  Act, 
requiring  the  Commission,  in  case  damages  are  awarded, 
to  include  in  its  report  the  finding  of  fact  on  which  the 
award  is  made,  and  on  Section  16  of  the  Act,  providing 
that,  in  a  suit  to  recover  in  a  United  States  circuit  court 
the  excess  charge,  the  suit  shall  proceed  in  all  respects 
like  all  civil  suits  for  damages  except  that  the  finding 
and  order  of  the  Commission  shall  be  prima  facie  evi- 
dence of  the  facts  therein  stated.28 

In  all  cases  where  a  suit  in  a  court  is  brought  to  enforce 
an  order  of  the  Commission,  the  complainant  can  recover 
attorney's  fees. 

"Robinson  v.  B.  &  O.  R.  R.  Co.,  222  U.  S.  506,  512. 
"Phillips  Co.  v.  G.  T.  W.  Ry.  Co.,  195  Fed.  12,  16. 
"Darnell-Taenzer  Lumber  Co.  v.  S.  P.  Co.,  190  Fed.  659,  663. 


SECTION  16a 

Rehearings. — This  section  provides  that  after  a  de- 
cision, order,  or  requirement  has  been  handed  down  by 
the  Commission  in  any  proceeding,  any  party  thereto 
may  at  any  time  make  application  for  rehearing  of  the 
same,  or  any  matter  determined  therein.  It  shall  be  lawful 
for  the  Commission  in  its  discretion  to  grant  such  a  re- 
hearing if  sufficient  reason  therefor  be  made  to  appear. 
Applications  for  rehearing  shall  be  governed  by  such 
general  rules  as  the  Commission  may  establish.  No  such 
application  shall  excuse  any  carrier  from  complying  with 
or  obeying  any  decision,  order,  or  requirement  of  the 
Commission,  or  operate  in  any  manner  to  stay  or  post- 
pone the  enforcement  thereof,  without  the  special  order 
of  the  Commission.  In  case  a  rehearing  is  granted,  the 
proceedings  thereupon  shall  conform  as  much  as  possible 
to  the  proceedings  in  an  original  hearing,  except  as  the 
Commission  may  otherwise  direct. 

If,  in  its  judgment,  after  the  consideration  of  all  facts, 
including  those  arising  since  the  former  hearing,  it  shall 
appear  that  the  original  decision,  order,  or  requirement 
is  in  any  respect  unjust  or  unwarranted,  the  Commission 
may  change  the  same.  Any  decision,  order,  or  require- 
ment made  after  such  rehearing  or  changing  of  the  orig- 
inal determination,  shall  be  subject  to  the  same  provisions 
as  an  original  order.  In  conjunction  with  this,  read  Sec- 
tion 16a,  Kehearing. 


152 


SECTION  17 

1.    Procedtjke 

In  general. — Section  17  provides  that  the  Commission 
may  conduct  its  proceedings  in  such  manner  as  will  best 
conduce  to  the  proper  dispatch  of  business  and  to  the 
ends  of  justice.  It  may  from  time  to  time  make  or  amend 
such  general  rules  or  orders  as  may  be  requisite  for  the 
order  and  regulation  of  proceedings  before  it.  Any  party 
may  appear  before  it  and  be  heard  in  person  or  by  at- 
torney. 

The  Commission  has  absolute  power  over  its  proce- 
dure. This  section,  however,  should  be  read  in  connec- 
tion with  Sections  16  and  16a,  which  to  some  extent,  as 
has  been  noted,  more  clearly  define  the  Commission's 
authority  in  this  respect.  Section  16  gives  the  Commis- 
sion authority  to  modify  its  orders,  and  Section  16a 
grants  more  specific  authority  concerning  rehearings. 
The  Commission  has  endeavored  to  simplify  its  practice 
and  procedure,  not  permitting  technical  matters  to  inter- 
fere with  substantial  results.  In  order  that  shippers  un- 
skilled in  such  matters  might  bring  their  troubles  to  the 
Commission  in  their  own  proper  persons,  the  practice 
rules  of  the  Commission,  while  not  overlooking  the  defi- 
nite requirements  of  the  law  in  respect  to  filing  com- 
plaints, are  intended  to  relieve  complainants,  as  far  as 
possible,  from  observance  of  the  more  technical  rules  of 
pleading. 

The  Commission  has  published  rules  of  procedure.1 
It  is  necessary  for  this  body  to  have  some  kind  of  system 

^hese  rules  will  be  found  in  "Procedure  Before  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Commission." 

153 


154  THE  ACT  TO  KEGULATE  COMMERCE 

in  the  practice  and  trial  of  thousands  of  cases  pending  be- 
fore it.  Naturally,  some  questions  have  arisen.  We  will 
consider  briefly  the  more  important  ones. 

Complaint. — It  is  due  both  to  the  Commission  and  to 
the  defendant  carrier  that  a  complainant  should  state 
seasonably  whether  he  will  claim  reparation,  and  that 
both  the  Commission  and  the  carrier  may  be  advised  of 
the  nature  of  his  claim.  Every  rule  of  convenience  and 
of  justice  requires  that  where  a  large  number  of  existing 
rates  are  attacked,  a  statement  should  be  made  in  gen- 
eral terms  that  reparation  will  be  claimed  when  a  deci- 
sion finally  reducing  the  rates  is  made.  The  matter  may 
thus  be  held  in  abeyance  until  the  main  question  has  been 
decided  and  the  parties  know  whether  any  reparation  will 
be  awarded. 

Upon  a  complaint  alleging  undue  preference,  it  was 
held  that  the  question  of  the  reasonableness  per  se  of 
rates  is  automatically  imported  into  a  case  through  the 
suspension  of  the  tariffs.  However,  a  complaint  does  not 
raise  the  issue  that  rates  are  discriminatory  when  it  sim- 
ply contains  a  general  allegation  that  the  rates  of  the  de- 
fendant violate  Sections  1,  2,  and  3  of  the  Act,  and  there 
is  no  attempt  to  point  out  in  any  particular  the  character 
of  the  discrimination,  the  locality  involved,  or  any  prayer 
for  its  correction.  If  a  question  of  discrimination  in 
rates  is  not  specifically  alleged  in  the  complaint,  but  is 
actually  tried  upon  the  hearing,  the  Commission  may 
allow  an  amendment  upon  such  terms  as  would  properly 
protect  the  defendants.  It  cannot,  however,  decide  that 
question  when  raised  for  the  first  time  in  the  briefs.  The 
remedy  of  complainants  is  to  file  a  separate  complaint  to 
that  specific  end. 

While  the  Commission  is  extremely  liberal  in  constru- 
ing the  pleadings  before  it,  the  statute  requires  that  car- 
riers shall  be  notified  of  the  complaint  which  they  are  re- 


SECTION  17  155 

quired  to  answer.  Though  no  particular  form  is  insisted 
upon,  there  must  be  a  statement  of  the  thing  which  is 
claimed  to  be  wrong,  sufficiently  plain  to  put  the  carrier 
upon  its  defense.2 

Therefore,  the  Commission,  fully  weighing  all  of  the 
pertinent  facts  and  testimony  adduced,  can  take  judicial 
cognizance  of  and  make  findings  upon  only  such  issues  as 
are  clearly  raised  by  the  complaint.  An  examination  into 
the  specific  provisions  of  the  Act,  especially  into  those 
of  Section  13,  will  make  clear  to  the  candid  mind  that  a 
complaint  before  the  Commission  was  not  intended  to  be 
regarded  in  the  same  strict  and  hard  light  as  a  complaint 
in  an  action  at  law,  but  was  to  be  regarded  as  an  appeal 
to  the  Government  against  oppressive,  unjust,  and  illegal 
action.  A  shipper  may  not  dismiss  his  complaint  without 
consent.  The  fact  that  he  has  no  interest  in  the  traffic 
concerned  in  his  complaint  does  not  put  him  out  of  court. 
These  and  similar  provisions  indicate  that  the  purpose  of 
Congress  in  enacting  the  Act  was  to  establish  a  body 
whose  function  should  be  to  protect  the  public  interest, 
and  not  merely  regard  the  technical  rights  of  an  individ- 
ual shipper.  In  this  view  of  the  law  the  Act  has  been 
administered  by  the  Commission.3 

But  the  Commission  is  not  disposed  to  try  complaints 
piecemeal.  If  a  complainant  desires  to  secure  reparation 
upon  traffic,  in  respect  of  which  he  also  seeks  reduction 
of  the  rate  for  the  future,  he  may  reasonably  be  required 
to  present  his  whole  case  at  once.  The  Commission  en- 
forces in  its  investigation  only  the  most  elementary  rules 
of  procedure,  requiring  merely  that  the  complainant  shall 
set  forth  concisely  an  alleged  violation  of  the  Act.  It  is 
aimed  to  avoid  technical  rules  that  might  impede  the  way 
to  substantial  justice,  and  to  determine  each  case  upon 

SU.  S.  Leather  Co.  v.  S.  Ry.  Co.,  21  I.  C.  C.  323,  324. 
'Advances  in  Rates— Western  Case,  20  I.  C.  C.  307,  315. 


156  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

the  merits  alone.  Obviously,  however,  it  is  in  the  interest 
of  good  administration  that  an  entire  case  should  be  pre- 
sented to  the  Commission  and  to  the  defendants. 

Cases  are  ordinarily  assigned  for  hearing  at  some 
point  convenient  to  the  complainant;  but  each  hear;ng 
involves  attendance  by  a  member  of  the  Commission  or 
an  examiner,  and  of  the  defendant's  counsel  and  witness 
at  the  place  assigned.  If,  after  an  order  for  the  future 
is  secured,  the  complainant  may  institute  another  pro- 
ceeding for  reparation  on  past  shipments,  a  second  hear- 
ing becomes  necessary,  which  may  involve  an  expenditure 
of  public  funds  and  a  hardship  upon  the  defendants  quite 
out  of  proportion  to  the  amount  sought  to  be  recovered. 
Moreover,  it  does  not  follow  that  because  the  Commission 
has  found  a  rate  unreasonable  and  established  a  lower 
rate  for  the  future,  the  former  rate  was  unreasonable  at 
all  times  in  the  past.  In  such  a  proceeding  as  this,  there- 
fore, a  second  and  independent  investigation  would  be 
unavoidable. 

Notice  of  complaint. — Section  13  of  the  Act  requires 
the  Commission,  when  a  complaint  stating  the  facts  is 
filed,  to  forward  the  same  "to  such  common  carrier,  who 
shall  be  called  upon  to  satisfy  the  complaint  or  to  answer 
the  same  in  writing  within  a  reasonable  time  to  be  speci- 
fied by  the  Commission."  Notice  should  be  given  only  to 
the  party  immediately  interested  and  not  to  those  re- 
motely concerned.  Since  full  publicity,  however,  attends 
every  step  of  all  proceedings  before  the  Commission,  it 
must  be  assumed  that  parties  interested  will  take  notice 
of  what  is  going  on. 

Amending  complaint. — Where  a  complaint  seeking 
reparation  for  certain  claims  is  filed  before  the  expira- 
tion of  the  limitation  period  applicable  to  such  claims, 
and,  upon  motion  of  complainant,  is  dismissed  without 
prejudice,  the  Commission  may  in  its  discretion  reinstate 


SECTION  17  157 

said  original  petition  by  a  nunc  pro  tunc  order  as  of  date 
of  the  filing  of  the  complaint  in  the  first  place.  It  can- 
not, however,  reinstate  such  a  complaint  when  the  same 
has  been  amended  to  include  claims  not  embraced  in  the 
original  complaint,  which  are  at  the  time  of  the  motion 
for  reinstatement  barred  by  the  Statute  of  Limitations. 
The  Commission  cannot  sanction  a  practice  permitting 
the  revival  of  claims  barred  by  the  statute  by  subse- 
quently attaching  them  to  other  claims,  presented  within 
the  prescribed  period.  This  is  true  despite  any  promises 
on  the  part  of  the  defendant  carriers  that  they  will  not 
take  advantage  of  the  Statute  of  Limitations.  The  Com- 
mission has  no  jurisdiction  to  deal  with  complaints  for 
reparation  in  any  way,  unless  they  are  filed  with  or  pre- 
sented to  it  within  the  time  provided  by  law,  and  do  not 
have  the  powers  of  a  court  of  equity  to  relieve  from  hard- 
ships resulting  from  improvident  arrangements  or  agree- 
ments between  the  parties. 

Hearing. — While  the  Act  does  not  presume  to  cast  the 
burden  of  proof  entirely  upon  the  complainant  to  estab- 
lish the  unreasonableness  of  a  rate  complained  of,  as 
would  be  the  case  in  a  court  of  law,  nevertheless  a  com- 
plainant is  not  relieved  of  all  responsibility  as  to  his  case 
upon  the  mere  filing  of  a  complaint.  "Where,  after  due 
notification,  he  appears  neither  in  person  nor  by  counsel 
at  the  hearing,  and  his  application  is  primarily  one  for 
reparation,  his  complaint  must  be  dismissed. 

Rehearing. — When  full  opportunity  for  hearing  has 
been  accorded,  parties  must  show  as  ground  for  a  re- 
hearing that  the  evidence  which  they  now  offer  either 
could  not  or  ought  not  to  have  been  previously  intro- 
duced ;  also  that  this  evidence,  if  admitted,  will  probably 
lead  to  a  reversal.  It  is  no  hardship  to  require  carriers, 
in  the  trial  of  their  cases  before  the  Commission,  to  ob- 
serve to  a  very  moderate  degree  the   same  rules  that 


158  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

would  obtain  in  a  trial  at  law.  Whenever  the  Commis- 
sion is  convinced  that  its  order  works  substantial  injus- 
tice, it  will  unhesitatingly  set  aside  that  order.  It  can- 
not, however,  continually  retry  cases  upon  the  mere 
statement  of  the  carrier  that  it  desires  to  introduce  some 
further  testimony,  or  that  it  believes  that  the  decision 
of  the  Commission  is  wrong. 

The  rules  regarding  rehearing  should  be  considered  in 
connection  with  Section  16a,  already  referred  to. 

Orders  of  the  Commission. — The  Commission  is  an  ad- 
ministrative body.  The  rates,  regulations,  and  practices 
that  it  establishes  within  its  jurisdiction  become  fixed 
rules  of  action.  From  time  to  time  it  may  be  necessary 
to  change  these  rulings  as  varying  conditions  require, 
but  this  should  never  be  done  except  upon  due  notice  to 
the  public,  which  is  affected  by  them.  It  would,  of  course, 
be  altogether  intolerable  if  the  change  could  be  made  re- 
troactive.4 

But  an  order  of  the  Commission  for  the  payment  of 
money  does  not  have  the  effect  of  an  order,  decree,  or 
judgment  of  a  court;  it  is  not  enforceable  by  process,  nor 
does  it  become  a  lien  upon  the  property  of  the  defendant. 

The  Commission  may  likewise  modify  its  orders  as  it 
sees  fit. 


'Nebr.-Iowa  Grain  Co.  v.  U.  P.  R.  R.  Co.,  15  I.  C.  C.  90,  93. 


SECTION  18 

Salaries  of  Commission. — Section  18  provides  that  the 
Commission  shall  appoint  a  secretary,  who  shall  receive 
an  annual  salary  of  $5,000.  The  Commission  also  has 
authority  to  employ  and  fix  the  compensation  of  such 
other  employes  as  it  may  find  necessary  for  the  proper 
performance  of  its  duties.  Until  otherwise  provided  by 
law,  the  Commission  may  hire  suitable  offices  for  its  use, 
and  shall  have  authority  to  procure  all  necessary  office 
supplies.  Witnesses  summoned  before  the  Commission 
shall  be  paid  the  same  fees  and  mileage  that  are  paid  to 
witnesses  in  the  courts  of  the  United  States. 

All  of  the  expenses  of  the  Commission,  including  all 
necessary  expenses  for  transportation  incurred  by  the 
Commissioners,  or  by  their  employes  under  their  orders 
in  making  any  investigation,  or  upon  official  business  in 
any  place  other  than  in  the  city  of  Washington,  shall"  be 
allowed  and  paid  on  the  presentation  of  itemized  vouch- 
ers approved  by  the  Chairman  of  the  Commission.  While 
Section  18  also  fixes  the  salaries  of  the  Commissioners,  it 
has  been  superseded  in  this  respect  by  Section  24,  to 
which  the  reader  should  refer. 


159 


SECTION  19 

Office  of  the  Commission. — Section  19  provides  that  the 
principal  office  of  the  Commission  shall  be  in  the  city  of 
Washington,  where  its  general  sessions  shall  be  held ;  bnt 
whenever  the  convenience  of  the  public  or  the  parties 
may  be  promoted,  or  delay  or  expense  prevented  thereby, 
the  Commission  may  hold  special  sessions  in  any  part  of 
the  United  States.1  It  may,  by  one  or  more  of  the  Com- 
missioners, prosecute  any  inquiry  necessary  to  its  duties, 
in  any  part  of  the  United  States,  into  any  matter  or  ques- 
tion of  fact  pertaining  to  the  business  of  any  common 
carrier  subject  to  the  provision  of  this  Act. 

Owing  to  the  enormous  amount  of  work  now  imposed 
upon  the  Commission,  hearings,  particularly  away  from 
the  city  of  Washington,  are  conducted  by  examiners,  who 
are  especially  appointed  to  make  investigations  and  to 
hear  testimony. 


*As  a  matter  of  fact,  hearings  are  constantly  being  held  in  all 
parts  of  the  country. 

160 


SECTION  20 
1.    Eeports 

Section  20  provides  that  the  Commission  is  authorized 
to  require  annual  reports  from  all  common  carriers  sub- 
ject to  the  Act,  and  from  the  owners  of  all  railroads  en- 
gaged in  interstate  commerce  as  defined  in  the  Act.  It 
has  power,  also,  to  prescribe  the  manner  in  which  such 
reports  shall  be  made,  and  to  require  from  such  carriers 
specific  answers  to  all  questions  upon  which  the  Commis- 
sion may  need  information.  Such  annual  reports  must 
show  in  detail  the  amount  of  capital  stock  issued,  the 
amounts  paid  therefor,  and  the  manner  of  payment  for 
the  same;  the  dividends  paid,  the  surplus  fund,  if  any, 
and  the  number  of  stockholders ;  the  funded  and  floating- 
debts,  and  the  interest  paid  thereon ;  the  cost  and  value 
of  the  carrier's  property,  franchises,  and  equipments; 
the  number  of  employes  and  the  salaries  paid  each  class ; 
the  accidents  to  passengers,  employes,  and  other  per- 
sons, and  causes  thereof;  the  amounts  expended  for  im- 
provements each  year,  how  expended,  and  the  character 
of  such  improvements;  the  earnings  and  receipts  from 
each  branch  of  business  and  from  all  sources ;  the  operat- 
ing and  other  expenses;  the  balances  of  profit  and  loss; 
and  a  complete  exhibit  of  the  financial  operations  of  the 
carrier  each  year,  including  an  annual  balance  sheet. 

Such  reports  shall  also  contain  such  information  in  re- 
lation to  rates  or  regulations  concerning  fares  or 
freights,  agreements,  arrangements,  or  contracts  affect- 
ing the  same  as  the  Commission  may  require;  and  the 
Commission  may,  in  its  discretion,  for  the  purpose  of  en- 

161 


162  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

abling  it  the  better  to  carry  out  the  purposes  of  the  Act, 
prescribe  a  period  of  time  within  which  all  common  car- 
riers subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  Act  shall  have, 
as  near  as  may  be,  a  uniform  system  of  accounts,  and  the 
manner  in  which  such  accounts  shall  be  kept.  The  Com- 
mission has  done  this  and  all  carriers  now  operate  under 
uniform  accounting  regulations. 

Said  detailed  reports  must  contain  all  the  required 
statistics  for  the  period  of  the  preceding  twelve  months, 
and  must  be  made  out  under  oath  and  filed  with  the  Com- 
mission at  its  office  in  Washington  within  three  months 
after  the  close  of  the  year  for  which  the  report  is  made, 
unless  additional  time  be  granted  in  any  case  by  the  Com- 
mission. The  Commission  is  also  given  authority  to  re- 
quire carriers  to  file  monthly  reports  of  earnings  and  ex- 
penses, and  to  file  periodical  or  special,  or  both  periodical 
and  special,  reports  concerning  any  matters  about  which 
the  Commission  is  authorized  or  required  by  this  or  any 
other  law  to  inquire  or  to  keep  itself  informed,  or  which 
it  is  required  to  enforce ;  and,  whenever  the  Commission 
so  requires,  such  periodical  or  special  reports  shall  be 
under  oath.  A  penalty  of  $100  a  day  accrues  for  failure 
to  file  these  reports. 

The  Commission  is  also  given  power  to  prescribe  the 
forms  of  any  and  all  accounts,  records,  and  memoranda 
to  be  kept  by  carriers  subject  to  the  Act,  including  the 
accounts,  records,  and  memoranda  of  the  movement  of 
traffic,  as  well  as  the  receipts  and  expenditures  of 
moneys.  The  Commission  has  at  all  times  access  to  all 
accounts,  records,  and  memoranda  kept  by  carriers.  It 
is  unlawful  for  such  carriers  to  keep  any  other  accounts, 
records,  or  memoranda  than  those  prescribed  or  ap- 
proved by  the  Commission.  The  latter  may  employ  spe- 
cial agents  or  examiners,  who  have  authority  under  the 
order  of  the  Commission  to  inspect  and  examine  any  and 


SECTION  20  163 

all  accounts,  records,  and  memoranda  kept  by  such  car- 
riers. The  penalty  is  $500  a  day  for  refusal  to  permit 
the  Commission  to  inspect  the  records. 

Any  person  who  willfully  makes  any  false  entry  in  the 
accounts  of  any  book  of  accounts  or  in  any  record  or 
memoranda  kept  by  a  carrier,  or  who  willfully  destroys, 
mutilates,  alters,  or  by  any  other  means  or  device  falsi- 
fies the  record  of  any  such  account,  record,  or  memo- 
randa, or  who  willfully  neglects  or  fails  to  make  full, 
true,  and  correct  entries,  in  such  accounts,  records,  or 
memoranda,  of  all  facts  and  transactions  appertaining  to 
the  carrier's  business,  or  who  keeps  any  other  accounts, 
records,  or  memoranda  than  those  prescribed  or  ap- 
proved by  the  Commission,  is  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor. 
The  offender  is  subject,  upon  conviction  in  any  court  of 
the  United  States  of  competent  jurisdiction,  to  a  fine  of 
not  less  than  $1,000  and  not  more  than  $5,000,  or  to  im- 
prisonment for  a  term  not  less  than  one  year  and  not 
more  than  three  years,  or  to  both  such  fine  and  imprison- 
ment.. 

Section  20  further  provides  that  any  examiner  who 
divulges  any  fact  or  information  which  may  come  to  his 
knowledge  during  the  course  of  such  examination,  except 
in  so  far  as  he  may  be  directed  by  the  Commission  or  by 
a  court  or  judge  thereof,  shall  be  subject,  upon  conviction 
in  any  court  of  the  United  States  of  competent  jurisdic- 
tion, to  a  fine  of  not  more  than  $5,000,  or  imprisonment 
for  a  term  not  exceeding  two  years,  or  both. 

In  passing  Section  20  of  the  Act,  giving  the  Commis- 
sion authority  to  prescribe  an  accounting  system  and  to 
require  reports  of  carriers  covering  both  interstate  and 
intrastate  business,  Congress  did  not  exceed  its  power 
under  the  commerce  clause  of  the  Constitution.1 

1.  C.  C.  v.  Goodrich  Co.,  224  U.  S.  194,  214;  32  Sup.  Ct.  436;  56  L. 
Ed.  729. 


164  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

Under  Section  20  the  Commission  lias  power  to  require 
the  carriers  engaged  in  interstate  commerce  to  make 
monthly  reports  of  instances  of  service  in  excess  of  the 
time  allowed,  provided  a  separate  form  of  oath  is  ac- 
cepted in  lieu  of  such  reports  in  cases  where  no  employe 
has  been  employed  in  excess  of  the  time  named  in  the  Act. 
An  order  of  the  Commission,  under  the  Act  as  amended, 
requiring  the  secretary  or  similar  officer  of  carriers  en- 
gaged in  interstate  commerce  to  make  monthly  reports 
of  violations  of  the  restrictions  as  to  hours  of  service  of 
employes,  is  not  in  violation  of  the  fourth  and  fifth 
amendments  of  the  Constitution  relating  to  unreasonable 
search  and  seizure  and  self -crimination.  It  merely  au- 
thorizes the  Commission  to  require  reports  from  com- 
mon carriers  and  owners  engaged  in  interstate  commerce. 
In  the  absence  of  such  an  order  bv  the  Commission,  man- 
damus  will  not  lie  to  compel  carriers  to  make  such  re- 
ports. 

Under  Section  20  the  Commission  is  also  authorized  to 
require  reports  from  and  to  prescribe  systems  of  book- 
keeping and  accounting  for  steamship  companies  operat- 
ing on  the  Great  Lakes.  It  has  authority,  however,  only 
with  respect  to  interstate  business  carried  on  under  a 
common  arrangement  with  rail  carriers,  and  not  with  re- 
spect to  port-to-port  interstate  or  port-to-port  intrastate 
business  of  such  carriers.2 

Neither  does  the  clause  in  Section  20  declaring  it  un- 
lawful for  carriers  engaged  in  interstate  commerce  to 
keep  any  accounts,  records,  or  memoranda  other  than 
those  prescribed  by  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commis- 
sion, prevent  the  states  from  prescribing  additions  to  the 
system  of  bookkeeping  fixed  by  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission  so  as  to  complete  the  information  necessary 

'Goodrich  Transit  Co.  v.  I.  C.  C,  190  Fed.  943,  958,  966. 


SECTION  20  165 

for  the  regulating  of  intrastate  rates,  for  the  clause  re- 
fers only  to  interstate  commerce.3 

Very  often  the  accounting  officers  do  not  follow  the 
strict  rules  of  the  Commission.  It  is  important  that  this 
be  done  in  order  that  uniform  accounts  be  had. 

Accounting  officers  understand  the  true  functions  of  accounts 
and  realize  their  importance  in  determining  the  correct  eco- 
nomic condition  of  the  transportation  properties  with  which 
they  are  affiliated.  Their  instincts  and  training  are  such  as 
naturally  to  lead  them  to  keep  their  accounts  as  they  should  be 
kept.  They  would  not  have  the  confidence  of  their  superior  offi- 
cers if  this  were  not  the  case.  But  in  many  instances  the  ac- 
counting officers  of  carriers  have  not  been  left  free  to  follow 
their  natural  inclinations  in  this  regard.  Irrespective,  however, 
of  the  influences  brought  to  bear  upon  an  accounting  officer  to 
turn  him  from  his  true  course  as  an  accountant  and  from  his 
duty,  under  the  law,  of  keeping  the  accounts  in  accordance  with 
the  system  prescribed  by  the  Commission,  it  is  nevertheless  his 
hand,  or  the  hand  of  someone  immediately  under  his  authority, 
that  makes  the  wrongful  record  and  it  is  the  accountant,  there- 
fore, to  whom  the  Commission  must  look  in  the  first  instance  for 
the  proper  carrying  out  of  its  rules  and  regulations.  Under  our 
regulations  and  prescribed  form,  the  oath  of  the  accounting  offi- 
cer must  be  attached  to  the  annual  report  of  the  carrier  to  the 
Commission,  together  with  that  of  the  executive ;  and,  from  the 
necessities  of  the  case,  it  is  the  accounting  officer  who  is  imme- 
diately responsible  and  whom  the  Commission  will  first  hold  re- 
sponsible when  it  becomes  necessary  to  invoke  the  penalties  of 
law;  but  we  shall  not  hesitate  to  call  to  account  with  even 
greater  severity  anyone  above  the  accounting  officer  in  author- 
ity who  may  share  in  the  responsibility  for  any  violations  of  the 
accounting  rules  and  regulations  which  have  been  prescribed  for 
the  use  of  the  carriers  that  are  subject  to  the  Act.4 

It  is  unnecessary  to  emphasize  the  necessity  and  im- 
portance of  carriers'  statistical  reports  that  will  be  uni- 
form and  truly  reflect  their  condition.  Eecent  years  have 
witnessed  the  exposure  of  glaring  instances  of  the  finan- 
cial wrecking  of  transportation  agencies  by  those  in  posi- 

«R.  R.  Com.  of  Tex.  v.  P.  T.  &  P.  Ey.  Co.  (Tex.,  1911),  140  S.  W. 
829   835 

'St.  Paul  &  Puget  Sound  Accounts,  29  I.  C.  C.  508,  518, 


166  THE  ACT  TO  KEGULATE  COMMERCE 

tions  of  authority.  In  many  instances  the  application  of 
correct  accounting  rules  and  principles,  with  proper 
knowledge  on  the  part  of  stockholders  and  the  public  of 
the  conditions  thus  reflected,  would  have  gone  far  to 
avoid  such  consequences.5 

In  a  typical  case,  defendant  contended  that  Section  20 
of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act,  in  conferring  on  the 
Commission  power  to  prescribe  the  form  of  accounts, 
records,  and  memoranda  to  be  kept  by  carriers,  recog- 
nizes a  distinction  between  the  form  and  the  substance ; 
and  that,  while  the  Commission,  to  obtain  full  and  ac- 
curate information  concerning  the  affairs  of  each  cor- 
poration, must  have  power  to  require  reports,  schedules, 
and  accounts  necessary  to  show  its  true  financial  condi- 
tion, yet  the  grant  must,  by  fair  interpretation  and  in 
order  not  to  amount  to  an  unconstitutional  delegation  of 
legislative  power,  stop  short  of  the  point  where  the  regu- 
lation in  its  essence  goes  not  to  the  form  but  to  the  sub- 
stance and  involves  interference  with  the  internal  affairs 
of  the  corporation.  It  was  held  that  no  such  distinction 
between  form  and  substance  is  admissible  with  respect 
to  the  declared  object  of  standardizing  railroad  accounts 
and  obtaining  therefrom  full  and  accurate  information 
concerning  the  affairs  of  the  respective  corporations.  In 
order  that  accounts  may  be  standardized  there  must  be 
uniformity.  So  far  as  regulations  for  uniformity  control 
or  tend  to  control  the  conduct  of  the  carrier  in  its  capac- 
ity as  a  public  servant  engaged  in  interstate  commerce, 
they  are  within  the  authority  constitutionally  conferred 
by  Congress  upon  the  Commission.  There  is  no  direct 
interference  with  the  internal  affairs  of  the  corporation ; 
and  if  any  such  interference  indirectly  results,  it  is  only 

•St.  Paul  &  Puget  Sound  Accounts,  29  I.  C.  C.  508,  517. 


SECTION  20  167 

such  as  is  incidental  to  the  lawful  control  of  the  carrier 
by  the  Federal  Government.6 

2.     The  Caemack  Amendment 

In  general. — Section  20  also  contains  what  is  known  as 
the  Carmack  Amendment,  which  makes  the  initial  car- 
rier liable  for  loss  or  damage  occurring  to  a  shipment 
while  off  its  rails  in  the  possession  of  a  connecting  car- 
rier. This  provision  of  the  Act  is  so  important  that  we 
shall  quote  it  verbatim. 

Any  common  carrier,  railroad,  or  transportation  company  re- 
ceiving property  for  transportation  from  a  point  in  one  State 
to  a  point  in  another  State  shall  issue  a  receipt  or  bill  of  lading 
therefor  and  shall  be  liable  to  the  lawful  holder  thereof  for  any 
loss,  damage,  or  injury  to  such  property  caused  by  it  or  by  any 
common  carrier,  railroad,  or  transportation  company  to  which 
such  property  may  be  delivered  or  over  whose  line  or  lines  such 
property  may  pass,  and  no  contract,  receipt,  rule,  or  regulation 
shall  exempt  such  common  carrier,  railroad,  or  transportation 
company  from  the  liability  hereby  imposed;  provided,  That 
nothing  in  this  section  shall  deprive  any  holder  of  such  receipt 
or  bill  of  lading  of  any  remedy  or  right  of  action  which  he  has 
under  existing  law. 

That  the  common  carrier,  railroad,  or  transportation  com- 
pany issuing  such  receipt  or  bill  of  lading  shall  be  entitled  to 
recover  from  the  common  carrier,  railroad,  or  transportation 
company  on  whose  line  the  loss,  damage,  or  injury  shall  have 
been  sustained  the  amount  of  such  loss,  damage,  or  injury  as  it 
may  be  required  to  pay  to  the  owners  of  such  property,  as  may 
be  evidenced  by  any  receipt,  judgment,  or  transcript  thereof. 

This  provision  has  completely  changed  the  method  of 
proving  claims  against  carriers,  which  had  existed  before 
its  passage.  Formerly,  if  a  shipper  presented  a  claim 
against  a  railroad,  in  many  of  the  states  he  had  to  prove 
on  which  connecting  line  the  loss  or  damage  occurred. 

9K.  C.  S.  Ry.  Co.  v.  U.  S.,  34  Sup.  Ct.  125,  130;  231  U.  S.  423;  58 
L.  Ed. 


168  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

In  many  instances  this  was  impracticable,  and  resulted 
in  considerable  hardship.  In  1906,  therefore,  Congress 
passed  this  section,  known  as  the  Carmack  Amendment. 
This  makes  the  initial  carrier  liable  for  the  loss,  no  mat- 
ter where  it  occurs. 

The  Carmack  Amendment,  requiring  carriers  in  inter- 
state commerce,  as  a  condition  of  continuing  in  that 
traffic,  to  obligate  themselves  to  carry  freight  to  the  point 
of  destination,  using  the  lines  of  the  connecting  carriers 
as  their  own  agencies,  is  not  beyond  the  scope  of  the 
power  of  regulation.  It  is,  therefore,  not  unconstitu- 
tional as  denying  the  right  of  contract,  since  the  right  to 
freedom  of  contract  is  not  unlimited,  and  the  regulation 
imposed  is  not  unwarranted  abridgment  thereof.  It  is 
merely  a  denial  of  such  right  to  the  extent  of  forbidding 
or  regulating  every  contract  which  is  reasonably  calcu- 
lated to  affect  injuriously  the  public  interest.7 

The  Carmack  Amendment  is  not  in  violation  of  the 
third  amendment  of  the  Constitution  in  taking  the  prop- 
erty of  the  initial  carrier  to  pay  the  debt  of  an  independ- 
ent connecting  carrier  whose  negligence  may  have  been 
the  sole  cause  of  the  loss,  since  the  resulting  liability  of 
the  initial  carrier  is  that  of  a  principal  for  the  negligence 
of  its  own  agent.8 

Considerable  doubt  was  expressed  as  to  the  constitu- 
tionality of  that  part  which  provides  for  contribution 
from  connecting  carriers.  It  is  now  well  settled,  how- 
ever, that  the  portion  of  the  Carmack  Amendment  pro- 
viding that  the  carriers  issuing  the  receipt  or  bill  of  lad- 
ing shall  be  entitled  to  recover  from  the  carrier  on  whose 
line  the  loss  or  damage  occurs,  "the  amount  of  such  loss, 
damage,  or  injury  as  it  may  be  required  to  pay  to  the 
owners  of  such  property,  as  may  be  evidenced  by  any 

'A.  C.  L.  R.  R.  Co.  v.  Riverside  Mills,  219  U.  S.  186. 
•A.  C.  L.  R.  R.  Co.  v.  Riverside  Mills,  219  U.  S.  186, 


SECTION  20  169 

receipt,  judgment  or  transcript  thereof,"  is  not  uncon- 
stitutional; for  it  makes  the  receipt,  judgment,  or  tran- 
script only  prima  facie  or  presumptive,  and  not  conclu- 
sive, evidence.9 

Jurisdiction  of  Commission.— Claims  for  loss  and  dam- 
age under  the  Carmack  Amendment  are  not  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission; 
such  suits  can  be  prosecuted  only  in  a  court. 

Jurisdiction  of  state  courts. — In  a  suit  against  an  in- 
itial carrier  under  the  Carmack  Amendment  for  a  fail- 
ure to  deliver  goods  at  destination,  a  state  court  has  ju- 
risdiction, since  the  act  complained  of  is  not  a  violation 
of  the  original  Act  of  1887,  and  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission  does  not,  therefore,  have  exclusive  jurisdic- 
tion under  Section  9  of  the  present  Act.10  The  Carmack 
Amendment,  making  the  initial  carrier  liable  for  loss  or 
damage  occurring  on  its  own  line  or  on  that  of  a  connect- 
ing carrier,  will  be  recognized  and  enforced  by  the  state 
courts.11  So  a  state  court  has  jurisdiction  under  the  Car- 
mack Amendment  to  entertain  an  action  against  an  ini- 
tial carrier  for  damages  caused  by  a  connecting  carrier 
in  failing  to  carry  an  interstate  shipment  of  peaches  with 
reasonable  despatch,  and  to  keep  the  same  properly 
iced.12 

Sections  8  and  9  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act  de- 
clare a  liability  for  damages  which  result  where  the  com- 
mon carrier  ' '  shall  do,  cause  to  be  done,  or  permit  to  be 
done,  any  act,  matter,  or  thing  in  this  Act  prohibited  or 
declared  to  be  unlawful  or  shall  omit  to  do  any  act,  mat- 
ter, or  thing  in  this  Act  required. ' '  It  was  held  that  the 
liability  created  by  the  Carmack  Amendment  to  the  Hep- 

9C.  of  Ga.  Ry.  Co.  v.  Sims,  169  Ala.  295,  301 ;  53  So.  826. 
10G.  H.  &  S.  A.  Ry.  Co.  v.  Wallace,  223  U.  S.  481. 
"C.  of  Ga.  Ry.  v.  Sims,  169  Ala.  295,  300;  53  So.  826. 
"St.  L.  &  S.  F.  R.  R.  Co.  v.  Heyser  (Ark.,  1910),  130  S.  W.  562,  564. 


170  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

burn  law,  making  the  initial  carrier  of  an  interstate  ship- 
ment responsible  for  loss  or  damage  occurring  on  the  line 
of  a  connecting  carrier,  is  not  governed  by  said  Sections 
8  and  9,  so  as  to  give  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commis- 
sion and  the  federal  courts  exclusive  jurisdiction,  but 
since  the  liability  under  the  Carmack  Amendment  was 
not  created  by  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act,  state  courts 
have  at  least  concurrent  jurisdiction  with  the  Commis- 
sion and  the  federal  courts.13 

Liability  of  initial  carrier. — Under  the  Carmack 
Amendment  the  initial  carrier  is  responsible  for  any  loss 
or  damage  which  occurs  on  a  line  of  any  other  carrier. 
No  carrier  can  limit  its  liability  so  as  to  avoid  this  obli- 
gation. However,  inasmuch  as  the  Carmack  Amendment 
only  applies  to  transportation  from  one  state  to  another, 
the  initial  carrier  in  the  United  States  is  not  liable  for  a 
loss  which  occurs  on  the  ocean,  on  a  shipment  destined 
to  a  foreign  country.  Thus,  suppose  a  shipper  in  San 
Francisco  was  to  ship  goods  to  Cuba  via  New  York.  The 
originating  carrier  would  be  liable  for  any  loss  which 
occurred  to  the  shipment  to  the  port  of  New  York;  but 
after  it  was  transshipped  there  and  put  on  the  steamer  it 
would  not  be  responsible  for  any  loss  or  damage  that  oc- 
curred while  in  the  possession  of  that  carrier,  because  the 
shipment  would  then  be  destined  to  a  point  not  in  the 
United  States.  On  a  shipment  from  Pittsburgh  to 
San  Francisco  by  way  of  New  York,  even  if  the  shipment 
was  transshipped  at  New  York,  and  damaged  while  in 
the  possession  of  the  water  carrier,  the  originating  car- 
rier would  still  be  liable,  because  the  shipment  would  be 
destined  to  a  point  in  the  United  States. 

Limitation  of  liability. — It  is  important  to  note  that 
under  the  Carmack  Amendment  the  carrier  has  the  right, 
however,  to  restrict  its  liability  when  such  restriction  of 

BSt.  L.  &  S.  F.  R.  R.  Co.  v.  Heyser  (Ark.,  1910),  130  S.  W.  562,  565. 


SECTION  20  171 

liability  is  a  rate  based  on  value.  So,  the  valuations  de- 
clared or  agreed  upon,  as  evidenced  by  the  contract  of 
shipment  upon  which  the  published  rate  is  applied,  must 
be  conclusive  in  an  action  to  recover  a  greater  sum  for 
loss  or  damage.14 

When  a  shipper  delivers  a  package  for  shipment  and 
declares  a  value,  either  upon  request  or  voluntarily,  and 
the  carrier  makes  a  rate  accordingly,  the  shipper,  in  case 
of  loss  or  damage,  is  estopped  from  recovering  any 
greater  amount.15 

The  Carmack  Amendment  does  not  forbid  a  limitation 
of  liability  in  case  of  loss  or  damage  to  a  valuation  agreed 
upon  for  the  purpose  of  determining  which  of  two  alter- 
native lawful  rates  shall  apply  to  a  particular  shipment. 

In  an  interstate  shipment  of  bulls  and  cows,  the  ship- 
ping receipt  stated  that  the  carrier  did  not  haul  these 
animals  for  the  lower  rate  specified  as  applying,  except 
upon  valuation  of  $30  and  $20  per  head  for  the  bulls  and 
cows,  respectively,  and  thereafter  recited  that  the  ship- 
per represented  the  value  as  not  exceeding  these  sums. 
In  the  tariffs,  a  higher  rate  was  specified,  where  the  lia- 
bility was  unlimited.  It  was  held  that  the  shipper,  hav- 
ing accepted  this  receipt,  could  not  recover  in  excess  of 
the  sums  limited  for  loss  of  the  stock,  notwithstanding 
the  provision  of  the  Carmack  Amendment  relating  to  ex- 
emption of  liability.16 

Under  the  law  it  is  a  duty  of  shippers  of  property  of 
more  than  ordinary  value  to  bill  the  same  at  its  true 
value,  in  order  that  the  legal  rate  may  be  applied.  In  the 
case  of  the  shipper's  declaring  a  false  value  to  secure  a 
reduced  rate,  one  of  the  penalties  under  a  form  of  receipt 
basing  the  rate  on  valuation  is  an  estoppel.    By  this  he 

MK.  C.  S.  R.  R.  Co.  v.  Carl,  33  Sup.  Ct.  391,  395;  227  U.  S.  639. 

"K.  C.  S.  R.  R.  Co.  v.  Carl,  33  Sup.  Ct.  391. 

16M.  K.  &  T.  R.  R.  Co.  v.  Harriman  Bros.,  227  U.  S.  657. 


172  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

is  precluded,  in  case  of  loss  or  damage,  from  denying  the 
correctness  of  a  value  so  given.17 

Plaintiff  shipped  a  carload  of  pig  tin,  consisting  of  320 
pigs  of  substantially  the  same  size.  Under  the  published 
interstate  rates,  23  cents  per  100  pounds  was  fixed  for 
carload  lots  only,  "released  to  valuation  of  $100  per  ton 
of  2,000  pounds,  to  be  shown  on  bills  of  lading  and  ship- 
per's invoice,"  and  30  cents  per  100  pounds  without  any 
limitation  of  liability.  Plaintiff  signed  a  bill  of  lading 
upon  which  was  stamped  the  statement  that  in  case  of 
loss  or  damage  to  the  property  therein  described  he 
would  not  assert  claim  against  the  carrier  on  a  higher 
basis  of  value  than  $100  per  ton.  Forty  of  the  pigs  were 
lost  in  transit.  It  was  held  that  the  limited  liability  ap- 
plied to  each  part  of  the  cargo,  and  plaintiff  was  there- 
fore not  entitled  to  recover  the  full  value  of  the  tin  lost 
so  long  as  it  did  not  exceed  the  value  of  the  entire  load, 
but  was  only  entitled  to  recover  at  the  rate  of  $100  per 
ton  on  the  actual  weight  lost.18 

The  valuation  declared  or  agreed  upon,  as  evidenced 
by  the  contract  of  shipment  upon  which  the  published 
tariff  rate  is  applied,  is  conclusive  between  parties.19 
But  where  a  carrier's  agent  is  not  authorized  to  accept 
shipments  under  the  common-law  liability  and  is  author- 
ized to  accept  them  only  for  a  limited  liability  under  a 
higher  rate,  the  contract  limiting  liability  is  invalid  even 
though  the  shipper  makes  no  demand  to  ship  under  the 
common-law  liability.20 

A  bill  of  lading  of  an  interstate  shipment  contained  the 
condition  that  the  amount  of  the  loss  or  damage  for 

"Express  Rates,  Practices,  Accounts,  and  Revenues,  28  I.  C.  C.  131, 
138 

"United  Lead  Co.  v.  L.  V.  R.  R.  Co.  (N.  Y.,  1913),  141  N.  Y.  S. 
310. 

"United  Lead  Co.  v.  L.  V.  R.  R.  Co.  (N.  Y.,  1913),  141  N.  Y.  S. 
310. 

"a  C.  C.  &  St.  L.  Ry.  Co.  v.  Hayes  (Ind.,  1913),  102  N.  E.  34,  41. 


SECTION  20  173 

which  any  carrier  was  liable  should  be  computed  on  the 
basis  of  the  value  of  the  property  (being  the  bona  fide 
price,  if  any,  to  the  consignee).  It  was  held  that  the  pro- 
vision was  not  invalid,  under  the  Carmack  Amendment 
to  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act.21 

Liability  for  negligence. — However,  while  the  carrier 
has  the  right  to  publish  rates  based  on  value  and  restrict 
its  liability  to  the  valuation  so  imposed,  it  cannot  release 
its  liability  for  a  loss  caused  through  its  own  negligence, 
because  such  provisions  are  void  under  the  Carmack 
Amendment.  So  provisions  forbidding  exemption  of  lia- 
bility are  a  statutory  declaration  that  a  contract  of  ex- 
emption from  liability  for  negligence  is  against  public 
policy  and  void.22 

An  agreement  to  release  a  carrier  for  part  of  a  loss  due 
to  negligence  is  no  more  valid,  under  the  Carmack 
Amendment,  than  one  whereby  there  is  complete  exemp- 
tion. Neither  is  such  a  contract  any  more  valid  because 
it  rests  upon  a  consideration  than  if  it  were  without  con- 
sideration.23 

But  by  the  provision  of  the  Carmack  Amendment  the 
liability  imposed  on  the  carrier  for  loss  or  damage  in  in- 
terstate shipments  is  the  liability  imposed  by  the  common 
law  upon  the  common  carrier,  and  may  be  limited  or 
qualified  by  special  contract  with  the  shipper,  provided 
the  limitation  or  qualification  be  just  and  reasonable,  and 
does  not  exempt  from  loss  or  responsibility  due  to  negli- 
gence.24 

So  in  consideration  of  a  lower  rate  the  shipper  may 
agree  that  the  carrier's  liability  shall  be  limited  to  a  cer- 
tain amount  in  case  of  loss  or  damage  to  the  shipment. 

"Coleman  v.  N.  Y.  N.  H.  &  H.  R.  R.  Co.  (Mass.,  1913),  102  N.  E. 
92,  94. 

22K.  C.  S.  R.  R.  Co.  v.  Carl,  227  U.  S.  639. 

"K.  C.  S.  R.  R.  Co.  v.  Carl,  33  Sup.  Ct.  391,  394;  227  U.  S.  639. 

MM.  K.  &  T.  R.  R.  Co.  v.  Harriman  Bros.,  33  Sup.  Ct.  397,  401 ;  227 
U.  S.  657. 


174  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

The  provisions  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act  do  not 
preclude  the  shipper,  after  paying  the  legal  rates,  from 
receiving  or  recovering  for  injuries  to  the  property- 
transported  caused  by  the  carrier's  negligence.25 

Notice  of  loss. — Very  often  bills  of  lading  contain  pro- 
visions that  notice  of  loss  or  damage  to  a  shipment  must 
be  presented  to  the  carrier  within  a  specified  time.  Under 
the  Carmack  Amendment,  making  the  initial  carrier  of 
an  interstate  shipment  liable  for  loss  or  damage  caused 
by  itself  or  connecting  carriers,  a  provision  in  the  ship- 
ping contract  requiring  the  shipper  to  present  a  claim  in 
writing  for  loss  or  damage  to  the  carrier,  at  the  point 
of  shipment  or  delivery,  within  four  months  after  de- 
livery, is  not  invalid.26 

Under  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act,  which  is  control- 
ling upon  a  state  court  in  determining  questions  of  liabil- 
ity properly  arising  out  of  interstate  shipments,  the 
courts  will  uphold  the  validity  of  a  provision  in  a  live- 
stock contract  or  bill  of  lading  to  the  effect  that,  as  a  con- 
dition precedent  to.  a  recovery  for  any  damages  for  delay, 
loss,  or  injury  to  live  stock  covered  by  the  contract,  the 
shipper  will  give  notice  in  writing  of  the  claim,  before 
said  stock  is  removed  from  the  point  of  shipment  or  the 
place  of  destination,  and  before  such  stock  mingles  with 
other  stock.  Such  notice  is  to  be  given  to  some  general 
officer,  to  the  nearest  station  agent,  to  the  agent  at  des- 
tination, or  to  some  general  officer  of  the  delivering  line, 
and  is  to  be  served  within  one  day  after  delivery  of  such 
stock  at  destination.27 

The  Carmack  Amendment  does  not  prohibit  an  agree- 
ment providing  a  reasonable  time  within  which  the  ship- 
per must  present  his  claim  or  give  notice  of  claim  for 


2SOre.  R.  &  N.  Co.  v.  Thisler  (Kans.,  1913),  133  P.  539,  539. 

MA.  C.  L.  R.  R.  Co.  v.  Ward  (Ala.,  1912),  58  So.  677,  678. 

"St.  L.  &  S.  F.  R.  R.  Co.  v.  Zickafoose  (Okla.,  1913),  135  P.  406,  407. 


SECTION  20  175 

loss  or  damage,  or  the  carrier  shall  not  be  liable.  Like- 
wise, nothing  in  the  Carmack  Amendment  invalidates  a 
provision  in  a  bill  of  lading  of  an  interstate  shipment  re- 
quiring claims  for  loss  or  damage  to  be  made  in  writing 
to  the  carrier  at  the  point  of  delivery  or  at  the  point  of 
origin  within  four  months  after  delivery  of  the  property, 
or  in  case  of  failure  to  make  delivery  within  four  months 
after  a  reasonable  time  for  delivery  has  elapsed.28  This 
is  included  in  the  third  section  of  the  Uniform  Bill  of 
Lading.  However,. since  the  Carmack  Amendment  abol- 
ishes the  stipulation  for  separate  liability  of  connecting 
carriers  of  interstate  freight,  notice  to  a  connecting  car- 
rier of  loss  or  damage  to  live  stock  is  notice  to  the  initial 
carrier.29 


"Joseph  v.  C.  B.  &  Q.  R.  R.  Co.  (Mo.,  1913),  157  S.  W.  837,  838. 
9C.  R.  I.  &  G.  Ry.  Co.  v.  Linger  (Tex.,  1913),  166  S.  W.  298,  299. 


SECTION  21 

Report  by  Commission. — Section  21  provides  that  the 
Commission  shall,  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  Decem- 
ber in  each  year,  make  a  report,  which  shall  be  trans- 
mitted to  Congress,  and  copies  of  which  shall  be  distrib- 
uted, as  are  the  other  reports,  to  Congress.  This  report 
should  contain  such  information  and  data  collected  by 
the  Commission  as  may  be  considered  of  value  in  the  de- 
termination of  questions  connected  with  the  regulation 
of  commerce,  such  recommendations  regarding  addi- 
tional legislation  relating  thereto  as  the  Commission  may 
deem  necessary,  and  the  names  and  compensation  of  the 
persons  employed  by  said  Commission.  The  annual  re- 
port of  the  Commission  is  a  very  instructive  publication, 
which  can  be  secured  from  the  Superintendent  of  Docu- 
ments a  reasonable  time  after  it  is  transmitted  to  Con- 
gress. 

The  annual  report  of  the  Commission  shows  more  than 
any  other  source  of  information  the  wide  scope  of  the 
Commission's  authority  as  now  constituted. 


176 


SECTION  22 
1.    Reduced  Rates 

Section  22  provides  that  no  provision  of  the  Act  shall 
prevent  the  carriage,  storage,  or  handling  of  property 
free  or  at  reduced  rates  for  the  United  States,  state,  or 
municipal  governments,  or  for  charitable  purposes,  or  to 
or  from  fairs  and  expositions  for  exhibition  thereat,  or 
the  free  carriage  of  destitute  and  homeless  persons  trans- 
ported by  charitable  societies,  and  the  necessary  agents 
employed  in  such  transportation,  or  the  issuance  of  mile- 
age, excursion,  or  commutation  passenger  tickets.  The 
railroad  is  also  authorized  to  give  reduced  rates  to  min- 
isters of  religion,  or  to  municipal  governments  for  the 
transportation  of  indigent  persons,  inmates  of  national 
homes  or  state  homes  for  disabled  volunteer  soldiers  and 
inmates  of  soldiers'  and  sailors'  orphan  homes,  including 
those  returning  home  after  discharge,  under  arrange- 
ments with  the  boards  of  managers  of  such  homes. 

The  railroad  is  likewise  authorized  to  give  free  car- 
riage to  its  own  officers  and  employes,  or  the  officers  of 
any  railroad  company  with  which  it  exchanges  passes  or 
tickets.  It  also  permits  the  issuance  of  joint  interchange- 
able 5,000-mile  tickets,  with  special  privileges  as  to  the 
amount  of  free  baggage  that  may  be  carried  under  mile- 
age tickets  of  1,000  miles  or  more.  But  before  any  car- 
rier may  issue  any  such  joint  interchangeable  mileage 
tickets  with  special  privileges,  it  must  file  with  the  Inter- 
state Commerce  Commission  copies  of  the  joint  tariffs 
of  rates,  fares,  or  charges  on  which  such  joint  inter- 
changeable mileage  tickets  are  to  be  based,  together  with 

177 


178  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

specifications  of  the  amount  of  free  baggage  permitted 
to  be  carried  under  such  tickets,  in  the  same  manner  as 
common  carriers  are  required  to  do  with  regard  to  other 
joint  rates  by  Section  6  of  the  Act;  and  all  the  provisions 
of  Section  6  relating  to  joint  rates,  fares,  and  charges 
must  be  observed  by  such  carriers  and  enforced  by  the 
Interstate  Commerce  Commission  as  fully  with  regard 
to  such  joint  interchangeable  mileage  tickets  as  with  re- 
gard to  other  joint  rates,  fares,  and  charges  referred  to 
in  that  section. 

It  is  unlawful  for  any  carrier  that  has  issued  any  such 
joint  interchangeable  mileage  tickets  to  demand,  collect, 
or  receive  from  any  person  or  persons  a  greater  or  less 
compensation  for  transportation  of  persons  or  baggage 
under  such  joint  interchangeable  mileage  tickets  than 
that  required  by  the  rate,  fare,  or  charge  specified  in  the 
copies  of  the  joint  tariff  of  rates,  fares,  or  charges  filed 
with  the  Commission  in  force  at  the  time. 

Charitable  institutions. — A  charitable  institution,  as 
the  term  bears  upon  the  right  of  carriers  to  issue  free 
transportation,  is  one  that  is  administered  in  the  public 
interest,  and  not  for  private  gain.  The  definition  in- 
cludes hospitals,  almshouses,  orphanages,  asylums,  and 
missionary  societies.  Such  an  institution  does  not  neces- 
sarily lose  its  charitable  character  from  the  fact  that  it  is 
under  the  management  of  a  particular  denomination  or 
sect,  or  because  a  charge  is  collected  from  some  or  all  of 
those  who  enjoy  its  privileges.  It  is  necessary  only  that 
it  be  conducted  in  the  public  interest  and  not  for  private 
gain.1 

Clergymen  acting  as  editors  of  officially  recognized 
church  papers,  as  college  presidents  or  professors,  as 
financial  agents  for  a  church  or  other  religious  or  charita- 
ble institution  (including  educational  institutions  under 

Tasses  to  Clergymen  and  Others,  15  I.  C.  C.  45,  46. 


SECTION  22  179 

church  government),  as  workers  in  Christian  Temper- 
ance or  Y.  M.  C.  A.  work,  and  as  brothers  of  religious 
orders,  are  included  among  those  who  receive  reduced- 
rate  transportation.  Sisters  of  charity  devoting  their 
entire  time  to  religious  work  and  who  habitually  wear  a 
garb  distinctive  of  their  order  are  not  excluded  from  the 
privilege  of  receiving  reduced-rate  transportation.  A 
clergyman  does  not  lose  his  ministerial  standing  by  rea- 
son of  the  fact  that  he  leaves  the  pastorate  for  some 
other  field  of  religious  activity. 

Returned  shipments. — Very  often  the  carriers  publish 
low  rates  on  returned  shipments  or  on  second-hand  or 
returned  goods.  The  Commission  instituted  an  inquiry 
into  the  legality  of  tariff  rules  providing  for  the  applica- 
tion of  reduced  rates  on  such  returned  shipments.  Under 
some  of  the  tariffs  these  reduced  rates  applied  during 
any  time  up  to  four  years.  It  was  held  that  returned- 
shipment  rates  in  general  should  be  disapproved,  but 
that  reduced  rates  for  the  return  of  freight  which  has 
been  refused  by  the  consignee  at  destination  may  prop- 
erly be  made.  In  the  latter  case,  the  return  movement  is 
practically  a  continuation  of  the  going  movement  and 
may  for  that  reason  be  accorded  lower  than  standard 
rates.  Goods  in  closed  packages  may  lawfully  enjoy  re- 
turn- shipment  rates  if  tendered  to  the  carrier  within  ten 
days  following  delivery.  While  this  concession  is  a  slight 
departure  from  legal  theory,  it  is  doubtless  essential  if 
the  rule  is  to  be  thoroughly  workable.2 

The  fact  that  freight  has  been  shipped  once  and  paid 
one  way  cannot  be  taken  into  consideration  in  fixing 
charges  for  a  subsequent  transaction.  The  principle  un- 
derlying the  ordinary  transit  privilege  cannot  be  relied 
upon  in  support  of  the  return- shipment  rule.  Transit 
arrangements,  in  their  most  common  form  at  least,  are 

'Reduced  Rates  on  Returned  Shipments,  19  I.  C.  C.  409,  417. 


180  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

susceptible  of  defense  only  upon  the  theory  that  the  in- 
bound movements  are,  in  fact,  parts  of  a  single  continu- 
ous transaction.  "While  the  freight  is  delayed  at  the 
transit  point  the  shipment  is  merely  suspended  tem- 
porarily, the  present  intention  of  the  shipper  being  to 
forward  the  goods  to  their  ultimate  destination.  Once  let 
it  be  conceded  that  the  inbound  and  outbound  movement 
are  separate  and  distinct  and  the  impropriety  of  apply- 
ing any  rates  other  than  the  regularly  established  locals 
would  be  self-evident.  It  is  clear  that  there  is  no  real 
connection  between  an  outbound  shipment  today  and  a 
returned  shipment  one  year  hence.  There  is  no  room 
whatever  for  the  argument  that  the  shipment  is  sus- 
pended during  the  period  intervening  between  the  two 
transactions,  for  there  is  no  present  intent  to  accomplish 
the  return  movement.  It  is,  therefore,  impossible  to  re- 
late the  two  services  and  urge  the  one  as  a  reason  for 
granting  special  terms  to  the  other.3 


'Reduced  Rates  on  Returned  Shipments,  19  I.  C.  C.  409,  417. 


SECTION  23 

Jurisdiction  of  United  States  courts. — Section  23  pro- 
vides that  the  district  courts  of  the  United  States  shall 
have  jurisdiction  upon  the  relation  of  any  persons,  firm, 
or  corporation,  alleging  such  violation  by  a  common  car- 
rier, of  any  of  the  provisions  of  the  Act  as  prevents  the 
relator  from  having  interstate  traffic  moved  by  said  com- 
mon carrier  at  the  same  rates  as  are  charged,  or  upon 
terms  or  conditions  as  favorable  as  those  given  by  said 
common  carrier  for  like  traffic  under  similar  conditions 
to  any  other  shipper,  to  issue  a  writ  or  writs  of  man- 
damus against  said  common  carrier,  commanding  such 
common  carrier  to  move  and  transport  the  traffic,  or  to 
furnish  cars  or  other  facilities  for  transportation  for  the 
party  applying  for  the  writ.1 


SECTION  24 

The  Interstate  Commerce  Commission. — Section  24, 
which  amends  Section  11,  enlarges  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Commission  to  consist  of  seven  members  with 
terms  of  seven  years,  each  to  receive  $10,000  compensa- 
tion annually. 


*For  further  provisions  concerning  the  power  of  the  United  States 
courts,  see  the  District  Court  Jurisdiction  Act,  at  the  end  of  this 
treatise. 

181 


MISCELLANEOUS  ACTS 

It  will  be  noted  that  there  are  other  acts  that  in  some 
way  bear  upon  the  Act  to  Regulate  Commerce.  As  most 
of  these  are  not  of  general  interest  to  traffic  men,  they 
will  be  treated  very  briefly. 

It  should  be  remembered,  however,  that  while  some  of 
these  acts  are  not  of  great  importance  to  traffic  men  in 
general,  others  bear  upon  particular  phases  of  the 
handling  of  traffic,  or  upon  important  matters  in  connec- 
tion with  transportation.  This  is  true  particularly  of 
such  acts  as  the  Safety  Appliance  Act  and  the  Hours  of 
Service  Act. 

1.    District  Court  Jurisdiction  Act 

This  act  abolishes  what  was  known  as  the  commerce 
court.  The  commerce  court  was  created  in  1910  to  take 
care  of  appeals  from  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commis- 
sion. It  was  deemed  advisable  in  1913  to  abolish  this 
court  and  provide  that  appeals  from  or  a  review  of  the 
decision  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  should  go 
to  the  various  United  States  district  courts.  The  act  con- 
tains certain  limitations  on  the  power  of  the  district 
court  by  providing  that  no  interlocutory1  injunction  re- 
straining an  order  of  the  Commission  shall  be  granted 
unless  heard  by  three  judges  after  five  days'  notice  to 
the  Commission.  There  are  also  other  provisions  con- 
cerning procedure,  which  are  of  interest  chiefly  to  law- 
yers. 

'Temporary. 

182 


MISCELLANEOUS  ACTS  183 

2.    Compulsory  Testimony  Act 

This  act  provides  that  no  person  shall  be  excnsed  from 
attending  and  testifying  or  from  producing  books, 
papers,  tariffs,  contracts,  agreements,  and  documents,  be- 
fore the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  or  in  obedi- 
ence to  the  subpoena  of  the  Commission,  whether  such 
subpoena  be  signed  or  issued  by  one  or  more  Commis- 
sioners, or  in  any  cause  or  proceeding,  criminal  or  other- 
wise, based  upon  or  growing  out  of  any  alleged  violation 
of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act  on  the  ground  or  for  the 
reason  that  the  testimony  or  evidence,  documentary  or 
otherwise,  required  of  him,  may  tend  to  criminate  him 
or  subject  him  to  a  penalty  or  forfeiture.  But  no  person 
shall  be  prosecuted  or  subjected  to  any  penalty  or  for- 
feiture for  or  on  account  of  any  transaction,  matter,  or 
thing  concerning  which  he  may  testify,  or  produce  evi- 
dence, documentary  or  otherwise,  before  said  Commis- 
sion, or  in  obedience  to  its  subpoena,  or  the  subpoena  of 
either  of  them,  or  in  any  such  case  or  proceeding.  A  per- 
son, so  testifying,  however,  is  not  exempt  from  prosecu- 
tion and  punishment  for  perjury  committed  in  so  testi- 
fying. 

It  further  provides  that  any  person  who  shall  neglect 
or  refuse  to  attend  and  testify,  or  to  answer  any  lawful 
inquiry,  or  to  produce  books,  papers,  tariffs,  contracts, 
agreements,  and  documents,  if  it  is  in  his  power  to  do  so, 
in  obedience  to  the  subpoena  or  lawful  requirement  of  the 
Commission,  shall  be  guilty  of  an  offense  and  upon  con- 
viction thereof  by  a  court  of  competent  jurisdiction,  he 
shall  be  punished  by  fine  not  less  than  $100,  or  by  im- 
prisonment for  not  more  than  one  year,  or  by  both  such 
fine  and  imprisonment. 


184  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

3.    Elkins  Act 

This  act  is  to  be  construed  in  connection  with  the  In- 
terstate Commerce  Act.  It  provides  penalties  for  various 
offenses  arising  from  interstate  commerce,  in  addition  to 
those  prescribed  in  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act. 

It  provides  that  anything  done  or  omitted  to  be  done 
by  a  corporation  common  carrier  subject  to  the  Inter- 
state Commerce  Act  which,  if  done  or  omitted  to  be  done 
by  any  director  or  officer  thereof,  or  any  receiver,  trus- 
tee, lessee,  agent,  or  person  acting  for  or  employed  by 
such  corporation,  would  constitute  a  misdemeanor  under 
that  Act  or  under  this  act,  shall  also  be  held  to  be  a  mis- 
demeanor committed  by  such  corporation,  and  upon  con- 
viction thereof,  the  corporation  shall  be  subject  to  like 
penalties  as  are  prescribed  in  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Act  or  by  this  act  with  reference  to  such  persons,  except 
such  penalties  as  are  changed  by  this  act. 

The  willful  failure  upon  the  part  of  any  carrier  to  file 
and  publish  the  tariffs  or  rates  and  charges  as  required 
by  the  Interstate  Commerce  Act  or  strictly  to  observe 
such  tariffs  until  changed  according  to  law,  is  a  misde- 
meanor. The  guilty  corporation  is  subject  to  a  fine  of 
not  less  than  $1,000  and  not  more  than  $20,000  for  each 
offense. 

It  is  made  unlawful  for  any  person,  persons,  or  corpo- 
ration to  offer,  grant,  or  give,  or  to  solicit,  accept,  or  re- 
ceive any  rebate,  concession,  or  discrimination  in  respect 
to  the  transportation  of  any  property  in  interstate  or  for- 
eign commerce  by  any  common  carrier  whereby  any  such 
property  shall  by  any  device  whatever  be  transported  at 
a  less  rate  than  that  named  in  the  tariffs  published  and 
filed  by  such  carrier,  as  is  required  by  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Act,  or  whereby  any  other  advantage  is  given 
or  discrimination  is  practiced.    Every  person  or  corpo- 


MISCELLANEOUS  ACTS  185 

ration,  whether  carrier  or  shipper,  who  shall,  knowingly, 
offer,  grant,  or  give,  or  solicit,  accept,  or  receive  any 
such  rebates,  concession,  or  discrimination,  is  guilty  of  a 
misdemeanor,  and  subject  to  a  punishment  of  not  less 
than  $1,000  and  not  more  than  $20,000.  In  addition  to 
the  fine  provided  for,  the  guilty  person  is  liable  to  im- 
prisonment in  the  penitentiary  for  a  term  of  not  exceed- 
ing two  years,  or  both  such  fine  and  imprisonment,  in  the 
discretion  of  the  court. 

4.    Expediting  Act 

This  act  provides  that  any  suit  in  equity  pending  in 
any  circuit  court  of  the  United  States  under  the  Inter- 
state Commerce  Act  or  the  Sherman  Act,  or  any  other 
act  having  a  like  purpose  that  may  be  enacted,  in  which 
the  United  States  is  complainant,  the  Attorney-General 
may  file  with  the  clerk  of  such  court  a  certificate  that, 
in  his  opinion,  the  case  is  of  general  public  importance 
and  thereupon  such  case  shall  be  given  precedence  over 
others,  in  every  way  expedited,  and  assigned  for  hearing 
at  the  earliest  practicable  day. 

5.     Parcel  Post  Act 

The  Parcel  Post  Act  gives  to  the  postmaster  the  right, 
subject  to  the  consent  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mission, to  change  the  classification  of  articles.  It  pro- 
vides that  in  the  classification  of  mailable  articles,  as 
well  as  the  weight  limit,  the  rates  of  postage,  zone  or 
zones,  and  other  conditions  of  mailability  under  the  Act, 
if  the  Postmaster-General  shall  find  on  experience  that 
they  or  any  of  them  are  such  as  to  prevent  the  shipment 
of  articles  desirable,  or  permanently  to  render  the  cost 
of  the  service  greater  than  the  receipts  of  the  revenue 


186  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

therefrom,  he  is  authorized,  subject  to  the  consent  of  the 
Interstate  Commerce  Commission  after  investigation,  to 
reform  from  time  to  time  such  classification,  weight  limit, 
rates,  zone  or  zones  or  conditions,  or  any  one  of  them,  in 
order  to  promote  the  service  to  the  public  or  to  insure  the 
receipt  of  revenue  from  such  service  adequate  to  pay  the 
cost  thereof. 

6.    Boiler  Inspection  Act 

This  act  provides  that  it  is  unlawful  for  any  common 
carrier,  its  officers,  or  agents,  subject  to  this  act,  to  use 
any  locomotive  engine  propelled  by  steam  power  in  mov- 
ing interstate  or  foreign  traffic  unless  the  boiler  of  such 
locomotive  and  appurtenances  thereof  are  in  proper  con- 
dition and  safe  to  operate  in  the  service  to  which  the 
same  is  put,  that  the  same  may  be  employed  in  the  active 
service  of  such  carrier  in  moving  traffic  without  unneces- 
sary peril  to  life  or  limb.  All  boilers  shall  be  in- 
spected from  time  to  time  in  accordance  with  the  provi- 
sions of  this  act,  and  be  able  to  withstand  such  test  or 
tests  as  may  be  prescribed  in  the  rules  and  regulations 
hereinafter  provided  for.  The  act  then  creates  a  depart- 
ment of  boiler  inspection  and  provides  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  inspectors.  It  further  provides  that  carriers 
must  maintain  rules  and  instructions  for  the  inspection 
of  locomotive  boilers  and  must  file  such  rules  with  the 
chief  inspector  and  with  the  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mission. 

While  this  act  is  quite  long,  it  is  simple.  The  reader 
will  find  it  printed  in  the  appendix,  and  should  give  it  the 
same  careful  study  which  he  should  give  all  the  acts 
amendatory  or  supplemental  to  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Act. 


MISCELLANEOUS  ACTS  187 

7.    Safety  Appliance  Act 

This  act  provides  that  it  is  unlawful  for  any  carrier 
engaged  in  interstate  commerce  by  railroad  to  use  on  its 
line  any  locomotive  engine  in  moving  interstate  traffic 
not  equipped  with  a  power  driving-wheel  brake  and  ap- 
pliances for  operating  the  train-brake  system ;  or  to  run 
any  train  in  such  traffic  after  said  date  that  has  not  a 
sufficient  number  of  cars  in  it  so  equipped  with  power  or 
train-brakes  that  the  engineer  on  the  locomotive  drawing 
such  train  can  control  its  speed  without  requiring  brake- 
men  to  use  the  common  hand-brake  for  that  purpose. 

It  further  provides  that  it  is  unlawful  for  any  such 
common  carrier  to  haul  or  permit  to  be  hauled  or  used  on 
its  line  any  car  employed  in  moving  interstate  traffic  not 
equipped  with  couplers  automatically  by  impact,  and 
which  can  be  uncoupled  without  the  necessity  of  men  go- 
ing between  the  ends  of  the  cars.  This  act  also  contains 
a  great  many  other  provisions  concerning  safety  appli- 
ances. The  reader  is  referred  to  the  appendix,  where  the 
act  itself  is  printed. 

8.    Block  Signal  Act 

This  act  provides  that  the  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mission is  directed  to  investigate  and  report  on  the  use 
of  and  necessity  for  block-signal  systems  and  appliances 
for  the  automatic  control  of  railway  trains  in  the  United 
States.  For  this  purpose,  the  Commission  is  authorized 
to  employ  persons  who  are  familiar  with  the  subject,  and 
may  use  such  of  its  own  employes  as  are  necessary  to 
make  a  thorough  examination  into  the  matter.2 

'Public  Resolution,  No.  46,  approved  June  30,  1906. 


188  THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE 

9.    Monthly  Reports  of  Accidents  Act 

This  act  provides  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  general 
manager,  superintendent,  or  other  proper  officer  of  every 
common  carrier  engaged  in  interstate  or  foreign  com- 
merce by  railroad  to  make  to  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission,  at  its  office  in  Washington,  District  of  Co- 
lumbia, a  monthly  report,  under  oath,  of  all  collisions, 
derailments,  or  other  accidents  resulting  in  injury  to 
persons,  equipment,  or  roadbed,  arising  from  the  opera- 
tion of  such  railroad  under  such  rules  and  regulations  as 
may  be  prescribed  by  said  Commission.  This  report 
shall  state  the  nature  and  causes  thereof  and  the  circum- 
stances connected  therewith. 

The  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  is  given  author- 
ity to  investigate  all  collisions,  derailments,  or  other  ac- 
cidents resulting  in  serious  injury  to  person  or  to  the 
property  of  a  railroad  occurring  on  the  line  of  any  com- 
mon carrier  engaged  in  interstate  or  foreign  commerce 
by  railroad. 

10.    Hours  of  Service  Act 

This  act  provides  that  it  is  unlawful  for  any  common 
carrier  subject  to  the  Act,  or  its  officers  or  agents,  to  re- 
quire or  permit  any  employe  to  be  or  remain  on  duty  for 
a  longer  period  than  sixteen  consecutive  hours.  When- 
ever any  such  employe  of  such  common  carrier  shall  have 
been  continuously  on  duty  for  sixteen  hours,  he  shall  be 
relieved  and  not  required  or  permitted  again  to  go  on 
duty  until  he  has  had  at  least  ten  consecutive  hours  off 
duty.  No  such  employe  who  has  been  on  duty  sixteen 
hours  in  the  aggregate  in  any  twenty-four-hour  period 
shall  be  required  or  permitted  to  continue  again  to  go  on 
duty  without  having  had  at  least  eight  consecutive  hours 


MISCELLANEOUS  ACTS  189 

off  duty.  Except  in  case  of  emergency,  no  operator,  train 
dispatcher,  or  other  employe,  who  by  the  use  of  the  tele- 
graph or  telephone  dispatches  reports,  transmits,  re- 
ceives, or  delivers  orders  pertaining  to  or  affecting  train 
movements,  shall  be  required  or  permitted  to  be  or  re- 
main on  duty  for  a  longer  period  than  nine  hours  in  any 
twenty-four-hour  period  in  all  towers,  places,  and  sta- 
tions continuously  operated  night  and  day;  nor  for  a 
longer  period  than  thirteen  hours  in  all  towers,  offices, 
places,  and  stations  operated  only  during  the  daytime. 

11.      TRANSPORTATION  OF  EXPLOSIVES  ACT 

This  act  provides  that  specified  explosives  are  not  to  be 
carried  on  passenger  vehicles  and  gives  to  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Commission  authority  to  make  regulations  for 
the  transportation  of  explosives. 


TEST  QUESTIONS 

These  questions  are  for  the  student  to  use  in  testing 
his  knowledge  of  the  assignment.  The  answers  should 
be  written  out,  but  are  not  to  be  sent  to  the  University. 

Section  1 

1.  Mention  the  more  important  classes  of  carriers  to  which 
the  Act  to  Regulate  Commerce  applies. 

2.  If  a  shipment  moving  from  one  point  in  a  state  to  another 
point  in  the  same  state  passes  out  of  the  state  in  moving  between 
the  two  points,  is  it  deemed  an  interstate  shipment  within  the 
meaning  of  the  Act? 

3.  When  were  pipe  lines  made  common  carriers  by  the  Act? 

4.  What  is  meant  by  adjacent  foreign  country? 

5.  What  did  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  say  in  the 
Shreveport  case  relative  to  state  rates  which  were  so  low  as  to 
discriminate  against  interstate  rates? 

6.  (a)  What  is  meant  by  the  term  "railroad"  as  denned 
in  the  Act  ?    ( b )  What  does  the  term  ' '  transportation ' '  include  ? 

7.  Mention  some  of  the  elements  which  are  considered  in 
fixing  a  reasonable  rate. 

8.  What  is  the  authority  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mission over  freight  classification? 

9.  What  authority  has  the  Commission  over  bills  of  lading? 

10.  (a)  Into  what  three  general  classes  may  facilities  be  di- 
vided?   (b)   What  authority  has  the  Commission  over  them? 

11.  What  are  the  provisions  of  Section  1  of  the  Act  as  to  free 
transportation  ? 

12.  (a)  What  is  meant  by  the  commodities  clause?  (b) 
What  was  the  decision  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  rela- 
tive to  this  clause  ? 

13.  What  authority  is  given  to  the  Commission  relative  to 
ordering  the  installation  of  switch  connections  ? 

Section  2 

1.  How  does  the  discrimination  specified  in  Section  2  of  the 
Act  compare  with  that  specified  in  Section  3  ? 

2.  Give  a  brief  definition  of  a  rebate. 

190 


TEST  QUESTIONS  191 

Section  3 

1.  (a)  Give  very  briefly  the  provisions  of  Section  3  of  the 
Act.  (b)  Mention  five  important  matters  which  may  be  gov- 
erned by  this  section. 

2.  May  a  carrier  as  a  shipper  over  the  lines  of  another  car- 
rier have  any  preference? 

3.  In  the  application  of  transportation  charges,  what  is  said 
as  to  discrimination  by  a  carrier  against  a  point  to  which  its  line 
of  road  does  not  extend? 

4.  What  is  the  effect  of  competition  in  justifying  discrim- 
ination ? 

5.  What  effect  may  potential  competition  have  in  warrant- 
ing discrimination? 

6.  May  the  Commission  compel  a  carrier  to  meet  compe- 
tition? 

7.  What  is  said  as  to  water  competition  in  warranting  dis- 
crimination ? 

8.  What  provision  is  made  in  Section  3  relative  to  the  inter- 
change of  facilities? 

9.  (a)  Under  Section  3,  may  carriers  be  compelled  to  give 
their  terminal  facilities  to  a  competitor?  (b)  What  is  the  effect 
if  the  carriers  voluntarily  give  the  use  of  their  terminals  to  some 
competitor  ? 

Section  4 

1.  What  is  the  substance  of  Section  4  of  the  Act  as  it  relates 
to  the  making  of  a  greater  charge  for  a  shorter  than  for  a  longer 
haul? 

2.  (a)  What  authority  is  given  to  the  Commission  to  au- 
thorize the  carriers  to  violate  the  fourth  section?  (b)  To  what 
extent  are  such  exceptions  made? 

3.  May  a  carrier  in  competition  with  a  water  route  reduce 
its  rates  to  or  from  competitive  points  and  then  increase  such 
rates  if  the  water  competition  is  eliminated  ? 

Section  5 

1.  What  does  Section  5  provide  relative  to  the  pooling  of 
freight  ? 

2.  What  changes  were  made  in  Section  5  of  the  Act  by  the 
Panama  Canal  Act? 

Section  6 

1.  What  jurisdiction  over  tariffs  is  given  to  the  Commis- 
sion by  Section  6  ? 


192  TEST  QUESTIONS 

2.  What  provision  is  made  in  this  section  as  to  publication 
of  tariffs? 

3.  What  is  said  in  Section  6  relative  to  the  necessity  of  ad- 
hering to  published  rates? 

4.  What  penalty  is  provided  for  an  erroneous  quotation  by 
carriers  ? 

5.  What  provision  is  made  in  Section  6  as  to  the  posting  of 
tariffs? 

6.  Where  are  the  regulations  of  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission  relative  to  the  construction  of  tariffs  to  be  found  ? 

7.  (a)  Upon  what  notice  may  tariffs  ordinarily  become  ef- 
fective? (b)  What  authority  rests  with  the  Commission  rela- 
tive to  allowing  rates  to  become  effective  upon  less  than  regu- 
lar notice? 

8.  May  carriers  engage  in  the  transportation  of  passengers 
or  property  without  regularly  published  rates  filed  with  the 
Interstate  Commerce  Commission? 

9.  What  penalty  is  provided  for  failure  or  refusal  on  the 
part  of  a  carrier  or  its  representative  to  comply  with  the  regula- 
tions provided  under  the  provisions  of  Section  6  ? 

10.     How  was  Section  6  amended  by  the  Panama  Canal  Act? 

Section  7 


1.     What  provision  is  made  in  Section  7  as  to  continuous  car- 


riage 


? 


Section  8 

1.     What  provision  is  made  in  Section  8  as  to  the  recovery 
of  attorneys'  fees? 

Section  9 

1.     What  does  Section  9  provide  relative  to  the  summoning 
of  witnesses? 

Section  10 

1.    What  is  the  substance  of  Section  10  as  to  penalties  for 
violation  of  the  Act? 

Section  11 

1.     Under  Section  11,  may  anyone  having  any  connection 
with  a  common  carrier  be  a  Commissioner  ? 


TEST  QUESTIONS  193 

Section  12 

1.  "What  authority  is  given  to  the  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mission by  Section  12  of  the  Act? 

Section  13 

1.  (a)  Under  Section  13  of  the  Act,  who  may  make  com- 
plaint to  the  Commission?  (b)  State  briefly  what  action  the 
Commission  takes  after  complaints  have  been  filed  with  it. 

2.  What  authority  is  given  the  Commission  as  to  making 
investigations  on  its  own  motion? 

Section  14 

1.  What  action  must  the  Commission  take  after  it  has 
made  an  investigation  of  any  matter  ? 

Section  15 

1.  Why  is  Section  15  such  an  important  part  of  the  Act? 

2.  What  authority  is  given  to  the  Commission  by  Section  15 
to  adjust  rates,  classifications,  or  other  matters  which  it  deems 
to  be  unsatisfactory  or  in  violation  of  some  one  or  more  portions 
of  the  Act? 

3.  What  is  said  as  to  the  necessity  of  action  by  the  Com- 
mission before  a  matter  may  be  carried  to  the  courts  ? 

4.  Under  what  conditions  are  the  orders  of  the  Commis- 
sion not  final  ? 

5.  Upon  what  grounds  may  an  order  which  is  apparently 
regular  be  set  aside? 

6.  Mention  some  of  the  factors  which  the  Commission  may 
consider  in  the  adjustment  of  a  single  rate. 

7.  Has  the  Commission  any  jurisdiction  over  capitalization? 

8.  What  jurisdiction  has  the  Commission  over  the  suspen- 
sion of  rates  ? 

9.  When  a  transportation  service  is  rendered  without  tariff 
authority,  what  action  may  the  Commission  take? 

10.  What  jurisdiction  has  the  Commission  over  divisions? 

11.  What  power  is  given  to  the  Commission  relative  to  ad- 
vanced rates  ? 

12.  Mention  some  of  the  conditions  which  may  warrant  an 
increase  in  rates. 

13.  In  determining  whether  a  rate  is  reasonable  or  not,  of 
what  value  is  the  fact  that  it  has  been  in  effect  for  many  years? 

14.  What  jurisdiction  has  the  Commission  over  joint  rates 
and  through  routes? 


194  TEST  QUESTIONS 

15.  What  is  said  as  to  the  right  of  the  carrier  to  favor  its  own 
line  in  the  routing  of  traffic  ? 

16.  How  may  a  satisfactory  through  route  be  determined? 

17.  What  are  the  rights  of  the  carrier  as  to  withdrawal  of 
through  routes? 

18.  What  is  the  obligation  of  carriers  to  furnish  equipment? 

19.  What  provision  is  made  in  Section  15  as  to  the  shipper's 
right  to  route  his  traffic? 

20.  What  provisions  are  made  as  to  the  carrier's  liability  for 
misrouting  freight  when  the  shipper  does  not  furnish  routing 
instructions  and  when  such  instructions  are  furnished? 

21.  What  authority  has  the  Commission  over  electric  lines? 

22.  What  is  said  in  Section  15  relative  to  the  disclosing  of 
business  secrets  by  employes  of  carriers  ? 

23.  What  authority  has  the  Commission  over  allowances  to 
shippers  for  performing  various  services  ? 

24.  Mention  three  services  for  which  the  carriers  quite  often 
make  allowances. 

25.  How  may  an  allowance  become  a  rebate? 

Section  16 

1.  In  Section  16  what  authority  is  given  to  the  Commission 
relative  to  the  awarding  of  reparation? 

2.  What  action  is  necessary  before  a  shipper  can  obtain 
relief  from  a  violation  of  the  Act? 

3.  What  action  is  necessary  before  an  award  of  damages 
can  be  made  for  the  collection  of  an  unreasonable  rate  ? 

4.  What  is  said  as  to  the  authority  of  the  Commission  to 
award  damages  for  violation  of  the  Act? 

5.  What  is  said  as  to  the  necessity  of  first  paying  the  tariff 
rate  before  reparation  can  be  recovered? 

6.  Who  are  entitled  to  recover  damages? 

7.  What  is  meant  by  the  Statute  of  Limitations  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Act? 

8.  (a)  What  is  a  formal  complaint?     (b)  What  is  an  in- 
formal complaint? 

9.  When  the  Commission  awards  reparation  and  the  car- 
riers refuse  to  pay  the  reparation,  what  action  must  be  taken  ? 

10.  What  provision  is  made  as  to  the  rehearing  of  cases  de- 
cided by  the  Commission? 

Section  17 

1.    What  are  the  provisions  of  Section  17  as  to  procedure 
before  the  Commission? 


TEST  QUESTIONS  195 

2.  State  very  briefly  the  various  steps  in  the  handling  of  a 
complaint. 

3.  Where  can  the  rules  of  procedure  to  be  followed  before 
the  Commission  be  found  ? 

Section  18 

1.  In  Section  18  what  authority  is  given  to  the  Commis- 
sion as  to  the  conduct  of  its  work? 

Section  19 

1.  Where  is  the  principal  office  of  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission  ? 

2.  What  provision  is  made  in  Section  19  for  holding  hear- 
ings at  other  points  than  Washington,  D.  C.  ? 

Section  20 

1.  Mention  some  important  matters  on  which  the  Commis- 
sion may  require  reports  from  the  carriers. 

2.  What  power  has  the  Commission  over  the  keeping  of  car- 
riers' accounts? 

3.  What  has  the  Commission  said  as  to  the  responsibility  of 
accounting  officers  in  connection  with  the  keeping  of  carriers' 
accounts  correctly? 

4.  What  is  the  substance  of  the  Carmack  Amendment  ? 

5.  Do  claims  for  damage  arising  under  the  Carmack  Amend- 
ment come  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission  ? 

6.  What  jurisdiction  have  state  courts  in  enforcing  the  Car- 
mack Amendment? 

7.  What  is  the  responsibility  of  the  initial  carrier  for  loss 
or  damage  under  the  Carmack  Amendment  ? 

8.  What  is  said  as  to  the  restriction  of  liability  by  this 
amendment  ? 

9.  May  the  carrier  release  itself  from  liability  for  loss  or 
damage  occurring  from  its  own  negligence? 

10.    May  carriers  legally  insert  in  a  bill  of  lading  a  provision 
that  claims  must  be  filed  within  a  specified  time  ? 

Section  21 

1.  (a)  By  what  date  should  the  annual  report  of  the  Com- 
mission be  filed?  (b)  What  information  ought  to  be  given  in 
this  report? 


196  TEST  QUESTIONS 

Section  22 
1.     What  is  the  substance  of  Section  22  relative  to  free  trans- 
portation and  reduced  rates? 

Section  23 

1.     What  authority  is  given  to  the  United  States  district 
courts  by  Section  23? 

Section  24 

1.  What  salary  for  Interstate  Commissioners  is  provided 
by  Section  24? 

2.  How  many  Commissioners  are  provided  for  ? 

Miscellaneous  Acts 

1.  What  is  the  substance  of  the  Compulsory  Testimony  Act? 

2.  What  penalties  are  provided  by  the  Elkins  Act? 

3.  What  are  the  important  provisions  in  the  Hours  of  Serv- 
ice Act? 


THE  ACT 


TO 

REGULATE  COMMERCE 

(AS  AMENDED) 

ALSO 

DISTRICT  COURT  JURISDICTION  ACT 

COMPULSORY  TESTIMONY  ACT 

IMMUNITY  OF  WITNESSES  ACT 

ELKINS  ACT 

EXPEDITING  ACT 

CLAYTON  ANTITRUST  ACT  (Sees.  2,  3,  7-11, 15-19,  26) 

GOVERNMENT-AIDED  RAILROAD  AND  TELEGRAPH  ACT 

LAKE  ERIE  AND  OHIO  RIVER  SHIP  CANAL  ACT  (Sec.  17) 

PARCEL  POST  ACT  (Sec.  8) 

SAFETY  APPLIANCES 

MONTHLY  REPORTS  OF  ACCIDENTS 

MEDALS  OF  HONOR 

HOURS  OF  SERVICE 

ASH  PAN 

TRANSPORTATION  OF  EXPLOSIVES 

BOILER  INSPECTION 

BLOCK  SIGNALS 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  INTERSTATE  COMMERCE  COMMISSION 


REVISED  TO  NOVEMBER  1,  1914 


WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 

1914 


CONTENTS 

(Showing  citations.) 


Page. 

An  act  to  regulate  commerce,  approved  February  4,  1887,  and  in  effect 
April  5,  1887  (24  Statutes  at  Large,  379),  as  amended  by  an  act  ap- 
proved March  2,  1889  (25  Statutes  at  Large,  855),  by  an  act  approved 
February  10,  1891  (26  Statutes  at  Large,  743),  by  an  act  approved 
February  8,  1895  (28  Statutes  at  Large,  643),  by  an  act  approved  June 
29,  1906  (34  Statutes  at  Large,  584),  by  a  joint  resolution  approved 
June  30,  1906  (34  Statutes  at  Large,  838),  by  an  act  approved  April  13, 
1908  (35  Statutes  at  Large,  60),  by  an  act  approved  February  25,  1909 
(35  Statutes  at  Large,  648),  by  an  act  approved  June  18,  1910  (36 
Statutes  at  Large,  539),  by  an  act  approved  August  24,  1912  (37  Stat- 
utes at  Large,  566),  and  by  an  act  approved  March  1,  1913  (37  Stat- 
utes at  Large,  701) 7 

An  act  in  relation  to  testimony  before  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commis- 
sion ;  and  in  cases  or  proceedings  under  or  connected  with  an  act 
entitled  an  act  to  regulate  commerce,  and  amendments  thereto,  approved 
February  11,  1S93  (27  Statutes  at  Large,  443) 54 

An  act  defining  the  right  of  immunity  of  witnesses  under  the  act  entitled 
an  act  in  relation  to  testimony  before  the  Interstate  Commerce  'Commis- 
sion, and  so  forth,  approved  February  11,  1893,  and  an  act  entitled  an 
act  to  establish  the  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor,  approved 
February  14,  1903,  and  an  act  entitled  an  act  to  further  regulate  com- 
merce with  foreign  nations  and  among  the  States,  approved  February 
19,  1903,  and  an  act  entitled  an  act  making  appropriations  for  the  legis- 
lative, executive,  and  judicial  expenses  of  the  Government. for  the  fiscal 
year  ending  June  30,  1904,  and  for  other  purposes,  approved  February 
25,  1903.    Approved  June  30,  1906  (34  Statutes  at  Large,  798) 55 

An  act  to  further  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations  and  among  the 
States,  approved  February  19,  1903  (32  Statutes  at  Large,  847),  as 
amended  by  an  act  approved  June  29,  1906  (34  Statutes  at  Large,  584)  __        56 

An  act  to  expedite  the  hearing  and  determination  of  suits  in  equity  pend- 
ing or  hereafter  brought  under  the  act  of  July  2,  1890,  entitled  an  act 
to  protect  trade  and  commerce  against  unlawful  restraints  and  monopo- 
lies, an  act  to  regulate  commerce,  or  any  other  acts  having  a  like  pur- 
pose that  may  be  hereafter  enacted,  approved  February  11,  1903  (32 
Statutes  at  Large,  823),  as  amended  by  an  act  approved  June  25.  1910 
(36  Statutes  at  Large,  854) 60 


4  CONTENTS. 

Page. 

An  act  supplementary  to  the  act  of  July  1,  1862,  entitled  an  act  to  aid  in 
the  construction  of  a  railroad  and  telegraph  line  from  the  Missouri 
River  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  to  secure  to  the  Government  the  use  of 
the  same  for  postal,  military,  and  other  purposes,  and  also  of  the  act  of 
July  2.  1864,  and  other  acts  amendatory  of  said  first-named  act;  ap- 
proved August  7,  1888  (25  Statutes  at  Large,  382) 78 

An  act  to  incorporate  the  Lake  Erie  and  Ohio  River  Ship  Canal,  to  define 
the  powers  thereof,  and  to  facilitate  interstate  commerce,  approved  June 
30,  1906   (34  Statutes  at  Large,  809) 77 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  the  service  of  the  Post  Office  Depart- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  endiug  June  30.  1913.  and  for  other  purposes, 
approved  August  24.  1912  (37  Statutes  at  Large.  558) 78 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  urgent  deficiencies  in  appropria- 
tions for  the  fiscal  year  1913,  and  for  other  purposes,  approved  October 

22,  1913   (38  Statutes  at  Large,  219) 50 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled  "An  act  to  codify,  revise,  and  amend  the 

laws  relating  to  the  judiciary,"  approved  March  3,  1911.  being  chapter 
231  of  Thirty-sixth  Statutes  at  Large,  approved  January  20,  1914  (38 
Statutes   at    Large.   27S) 46 

An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry  civil  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1915,  and  for  other  purposes, 
approved  August  1,  1914  (38  Statutes  at  Large,  627) 42 

An  act  to  promote  the  safety  of  employees  and  travelers  upon  railroads  by 
compelling  common  carriers  engaged  in  interstate  commerce  to  equip 
their  cars  with  automatic  couplers  and  continuous  brakes,  and  their 
locomotives  with  driving-wheel  brakes,  and  for  other  purposes,  approved 
March  2,  1893  (27  Statutes  at  Large,  531),  as  amended  by  an  act  ap- 
proved April  1,  1896   (29  Statutes  at  Large,  85) 79 

An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled  an  act  to  promote  the  safety  of  employees 
and  travelers,  and  so  forth,  approved  March  2.  1893.  and  amended  April 
1,  1896;  approved  March  2,  1903  (32  Statutes  at  Large.  943) 81 

An  act  to  supplement  an  act  to  promote  the  safety  of  employees  and  trav- 
elers upon  railroads  by  compelling  common  carriers  engaged  in  inter- 
state commerce  to  equip  their  cars  with  automatic  couplers  and  con- 
tinuous brakes,  and  their  locomotives  with  driving-wheel  brakes,  and 
for  other  purposes,  and  other  safety-appliance  acts,  and  for  other  pur- 
poses, approved  April  14,  1910  (36  Statutes  at  Large,  298)  :  also  amend- 
ment of  March  4.  1911   (36  Statutes  at  Large,  1397) 83 

An  act  authorizing  the  Commission  to  employ  safety-appliance  inspectors, 

approved  June  28,  1902  (32  Statutes  at  Large,  444) 86 

An  act  requiring  common  carriers  engaged  in  interstate  and  foreign  com- 
merce to  make  full  reports  of  all  accidents  to  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission  and  authorizing  investigations  thereof  by  said  Commission, 
approved  May  6,  1910  (36  Statutes  at  Large,  350) 86 

An  act  to  promote  the  security  of  travel  upon  railroads  engaged  in  inter- 
state commerce,  and  to  encourage  the  saving  of  life,  approved  February 

23,  1905  (33  Statutes  at  Large.  743),  and' regulations  prescribed  there- 
under          88 

An  act  to  promote  the  safety  of  employees  and  travelers  upon  railroads  by 
limiting  the  hours  of  service  of  employees  thereon,  approved  March  4. 
1907   (34  Statutes  at  Large,  1415) 90 


CONTENTS.  0 

Page. 
An  act  to  promote  the  safety  of  employees  on  railroads,  approved  May  30. 
1908  (35  Statutes  at  Large,  476) 92 

An  act  to  promote  the  safe  transportation  in  interstate  commerce  of  ex- 
plosives and  other  dangerous  articles,  and  to  provide  penalties  for  its 
violation,  approved  March  4,  1909  (35  Statutes  at  Large,  1134) 93 

An  act  to  promote  the  safety  of  employees  and  travelers  upon  railroads 
by  compelling  common  carriers  engaged  in  interstate  commerce  to 
equip  their  locomotives  with  safe  and  suitable  boilers  and  appurte- 
nances thereto,  approved  February  17,  1911  (36  Statutes  at  Large,  913)  _        95 

An  act  making  appropriations  to  supply  urgent  deficiencies  in  appropria- 
tions for  the  fiscal  year  1913,  and  for  other  purposes,  approved  October 
22,  1913  (38  Statutes  at  Large,  219) 101 

An  act  to  supplement  existing  laws  against  unlawful  restraints  and 
monopolies,  and  for  other  purposes,  approved  October  15,  1914  (38 
Statutes  at  Large,  730) 62 

Joint  resolution  directing  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  to  inves- 
tigate and  report  on  block-signal  systems  and  appliances  for  the  auto- 
matic control  of  railway  trains,  approved  June  30,  1906  (34  Statutes 
at  Large,  838) 101 

Index 103 


THE  ACT  TO  REGULATE  COMMERCE  AS  AMENDED. 


Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assem- 
bled, 

Sec.  1.  (As  amended  June  29, 1906,  April  13, 1908,  and  ^^"Jj^^j 
June  18, 1910.)     That  the  provisions  of  this  Act  shall  ap-  ^j?ject  t0  the 
ply  to  any  corporation  or  any  person  or  persons  engaged 
in  the  transportation  of  oil  or  other  commodity,  except 
water  and  except  natural  or  artificial  gas,  by  means  of 
pipe  lines,  or  partly  by  pipe  lines  and  partly  by  railroad, 
or  partly  by  pipe  lines  and  partly  by  water,  and  to  tele-^eiegraphu 
graph,  telephone,  and  cable  companies  (whether  wire  orcaMe     compa- 
wireless)   engaged  in  sending  messages  from  one  State, 
Territory,  or  District  of  the  United  States,  to  any  other 
State,  Territory,  or  District  of  the  United  States,  or  to 
any  foreign  country,  who  shall  be  considered  and  held  to 
be  common  carriers  within  the  meaning  and  purpose  of 
this  Act,  and  to  any  common  carrier  or  carriers  engaged 
in  the  transportation  of  passengers  or  property  wholly  by  wJt*lJ^Sj. and 
railroad  (or  partly  by  railroad  and  partly  by  water  when 
both  are  used  under  a  common  control,  management,  or 
arrangement  for  a  continuous  carriage  or  shipment) ,  from 
one  State  or  Territory  of  the  United  States  or  the  District 
of  Columbia,  to  any  other  State  or  Territory  of  the  United 
States  or  the  District  of  Columbia,  or  from  one  place  in  a 
Territory  to  another  place  in  the  same  Territory,  or  from 
any  place  in  the  United  States  to  an  adjacent  foreign 
country,  or  from  any  place  in  the  United  States  through 
a  foreign  country  to  any  other  place  in  the  United  States, 
and  also  to  the  transportation  in  like  manner  of  property 
shipped  from  any  place  in  the  United  States  to  a  foreign 
country  and  carried  from  such  place  to  a  port  of  trans- 
shipment, or  shipped  from  a  foreign  country  to  any  place 
in  the  United  States  and  carried  to  such  place  from  a 
port  of  entry  either  in  the  United  States  or  an  adjacent 
foreign  country :  Provided,  however,  That  the  provisions    Act  goe^* 
of  this  Act  shall  not  apply  to  the  transportation  of  pas-  po^t  au^n 
sengers  or  property,  or  to  the  receiving,  delivering,  stor-  one  state. 


8  ACT   TO   REGULATE   COMMERCE. 

age,  or  handling  of  property  wholly  within  one  State 
and  not  shipped  to  or'  from,  a  foreign  country  from  or  to 
any  State  or  Territory  as  aforesaid,  nor  shall  they  apply 
to  the  transmission  of  messages  by  telephone,  telegraph, 
or  cable  wholly  within  one  State  and  not  transmitted  to 
or  from  a  foreign  country  from  or  to  any  State  or  Terri- 
tory as  aforesaid. 
Express  com-     The  term  "  common  carrier  "  as  used  in  this  Act  shall 

pan  les    and  .  . 

Bleeping     car  include  express  companies  and  sleeping  car  companies. 

companies      in-  x  x  .  .  , 

eluded.  The  term  "  railroad  "  as  used  in  this  Act  shall  include  all 

What    the  ... 

term  "  rail-  bridges  and  terries  used  or  operated  in  connection  with 
any  railroad,  and  also  all  the  road  in  use  by  any  corpora- 
tion operating  a  railroad,  whether  owned  or  operated 
under  a  contract,  agreement,  or  lease,  and  shall  also  in- 
clude all  switches,  spurs,  tracks,  and  terminal  facilities 
of  every  kind  used  or  necessary  in  the  transportation  of 
the  persons  or  property  designated  herein,  and  also  all 
freight  depots,  yards,  and  grounds  used  or  necessary  in 
the  transportation  or  delivery  of  any  of  said  property; 
what   the  and  the  term  "transportation"  shall  include  cars  and 

portation"  in- other  vehicles  and  all  instrumentalities  and  facilities  of 
shipment  or  carriage,  irrespective  of  ownership  or  of  any 
contract,  express  or  implied,  for  the  use  thereof  and  all 
services  in  connection  with  the  receipt,  delivery,  eleva- 
tion, and  transfer  in  transit,  ventilation,  refrigeration  or 
icing,  storage,  and  handling  of  property  transported;  and 
it  shall  be  the  duty  of  every  carrier  subject  to  the  provi- 
sions of  this  Act  to  provide  and  furnish  such  transporta- 
tion upon  reasonable  request  therefor,  and  to  establish 
through  routes  and  just  and  reasonable  rates  applicable 
thereto;  and  to  provide  reasonable  facilities  for  operating 
such  through  routes  and  to  make  reasonable  rules  and 
regulations  with  respect  to  the  exchange,  interchange,  and 
return  of  cars  used  therein,  and  for  the  operation  of  such 
through  routes,  and  providing  for  reasonable  compensa- 
tion to  those  entitled  thereto. 
Chargesmust     All  charges  made  for  any  service  rendered  or  to  be 

be  just  and  rea-  .  °  .  „ 

■onabie.  rendered  m  the  transportation  of  passengers  or  property 

and  for  the  transmission  of  messages  by  telegraph,  tele- 
phone, or  cable,  as  aforesaid,  or  in  connection  therewith, 
shall  be  just  and  reasonable;  and  every  unjust  and  un- 
reasonable charge  for  such  service  or  any  part  thereof  is 
prohibited  and  declared  to  be  unlawful :  Provided,  That 
messages  by  telegraph,  telephone,  or  cable,  subject  to  the 
provisions  of  this  Act,  may  be  classified  into  day,  night, 


ACT   TO   REGULATE   COMMERCE.  9 

repeated,  unrepeated,  letter,  commercial,  press,  Govern- 
ment, and  such  other  classes  as  are  just  and  reasonable, 
and  different  rates  may  be  charged  for  the  different  classes 
of  messages :  And  provided  further,  That  nothing  in  this 
Act  shall  be  construed  to  prevent  telephone,  telegraph, 
and  cable  companies  from  entering  into  contracts  with 
common  carriers,  for  the  exchange  of  ser  vices. 
And  it  is  hereby  made  the  duty  of  all  common  carriers    ciassiflca- 

tions    r  g  <ru  1  £i  - 

subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  Act  to  establish,  observe, tions! andprac- 

n  .  t  iii-r«'  j?  tices    must    be 

and  enforce  just  and  reasonable  classifications  ot  property  just  and  rea- 
for  transportation,  with  reference  to  which  rates,  tariffs, 
regulations,  or  practices  are  or  may  be  made  or  prescribed, 
and  just  and  reasonable  regulations  and  practices  affect- 
ing classifications,  rates,  or  tariffs,  the  issuance,  form,  and 
substance  of  tickets,  receipts,  and  bills  of  lading,  the  man- 
ner and  method  of  presenting,  marking,  packing,  and 
delivering  property  for  transportation,  the  facilities  for 
transportation,  the  carrying  of  personal,  sample,  and  ex- 
cess baggage,  and  all  other  matters  relating  to  or  con- 
nected with  the  receiving,  handling,  transporting,  stor- 
ing, and  delivery  of  property  subject  to  the  provisions  of 
this  Act  which  may  be  necessary  or  proper  to  secure  the 
safe  and  prompt  receipt,  handling,  transportation,  and 
delivery  of  property  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  Act 
upon  just  and  reasonable  terms,  and  every  such  unjust 
and  unreasonable  classification,  regulation,  and  practice 
with  reference  to  commerce  between  the  States  and  with 
foreign  countries  is  prohibited  and  declared  to  be  un- 
lawful. 

No  common  carrier  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  anfrferge  ^ansS 
Act  shall,  after  January  first,  nineteen  hundred  and  seven,  j^ffe"011  pro" 
directly  or  indirect^,  issue  or  give  any  interstate  free 
ticket,  free  pass,  or  free  transportation  for  passengers, 
except  to  its  employees  and  their  families,  its  officers, 
agents,  surgeons,  physicians,  and  attorneys  at  law;  to  Excepted 
ministers  of  religion,  traveling  secretaries  of  railroad 
Young  Men's  Christian  Associations,  inmates  of  hospitals 
and  charitable  and  eleemosynary  institutions,  and  persons 
exclusively  engaged  in  charitable  and  eleemosynarj7  work ; 
to  indigent,  destitute,  and  homeless  persons,  and  to  such 
persons  when  transported  by  charitable  societies  or  hos- 
pitals, and  the  necessary  agents  employed  in  such  trans- 
portation; to  inmates  of  the  National  Homes  or  State 
Homes  for  Disabled  Volunteer  Soldiers,  and  of  Soldiers' 
and  Sailors'  Homes,  including  those  about  to  enter  and 


10  ACT   TO   REGULATE   COMMERCE. 

those  returning  home  after  discharge;  to  necessary  care 
takers  of  live  stock,  poultry,  milk,  and  fruit;  to  em- 
ployees on  sleeping  cars,  express  cars,  and  to  linemen  of 
telegraph  and  telephone  companies;  to  Eailway  Mail 
Service  employees,  post-office  inspectors,  customs  inspec- 
tors, and  immigration  inspectors :  to  newsboys  on  trains, 
baggage  agents,  witnesses  attending  any  legal  investiga- 
tion in  which  the  common  carrier  is  interested,  persons 
injured  in  wrecks  and  physicians  and  nurses  attending 
interchange  such  persons :  Provided.  That  this  provision  shall  not  be 

of    passes    au-  L  ......  -  fl 

tnorized.  construed  to  prohibit  the  interchange  of  passes  tor  the 

officers,  agents,  and  employees  of  common  carriers,  and 
their  families;  nor  to  prohibit  any  common  carrier  from 
carrying  passengers  free  with  the  object  of  providing 
relief  in  cases  of  general  epidemic,  pestilence,  or  other 
calamitous  visitation :  And  provided  further,  That  this 
provision  shall  not  be  construed  to  prohibit  the  privilege 
of  passes  or  franks,  or  the  exchange  thereof  with  each 
other,  for  the  officers,  agents,  employees,  and  their  fam- 
ilies of  such  telegraph,  telephone,  and  cable  lines,  and  the 
officers,  agents,  employees  and  their  families  of  other  com- 
mon carriers  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  Act:  Pro- 
wnat  terms vided  further.  That  the  term  "employees"  as  used  in 

and  "families"  this  paragraph  shall  include  furloughed,  pensioned,  and 
superannuated  employees,  persons  who  have  become  dis- 
abled or  infirm  in  the  service  of  any  such  common  carrier, 
and  the  remains  of  a  person  killed  in  the  employment  of 
a  carrier  and  ex-employees  traveling  for  the  purpose  of 
entering  the  service  of  any  such  common  carrier;  and 
the  term  "  families  "  as  used  in  this  paragraph  shall  in- 
clude the  families  of  those  persons  named  in  this  proviso, 
also  the  families  of  persons  killed,  and  the  widows  during 
widowhood  and  minor  children  during  minority  of  per- 
sons who  died,  while  in  the  service  of  any  such  common 
jurisdiction  carrier.     Anv  common  carrier  violating  this  provision 

and  penalty  for    .-_---.-  ,,  .,  ,    . 

violation.  shall  be  deemed  guilty  ot  a  misdemeanor,  and  for  each 
offense,  on  conviction,  shall  pay  to  the  United  States  a 
penalty  of  not  less  than  one  hundred  dollars  nor  more 
than  two  thousand  dollars,  and  any  person,  other  than  the 
persons  excepted  in  this  provision,  who  uses  any  such 
interstate  free  ticket,  free  pass,  or  free  transportation 
shall  be  subject  to  a  like  penalty.  Jurisdiction  of  offenses 
under  this  provision  shall  be  the  same  as  that  provided 
for  offenses  in  an  Act  entitled  "An  Act  to  further  regu- 


ACT   TO   KEGTJLATE   COMMERCE.  11 

late  commerce  with  foreign  nations  and  among  the  States," 
approved  February  nineteenth,  nineteen  hundred  and 
three,  and  any  amendment  thereof.     (See  section  22.) 

From  and  after  May  'first,  nineteen  hundred  and  eight,  claus™m0dities 
it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  railroad  company  to  trans- 
port from  any  State,  Territory,  or  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, to  any  other  State,  Territory,  or  the  District  of 
Columbia,  or  to  any  foreign  country,  any  article  or  com- 
modity, other  than  timber  and  the  manufactured  prod- 
ucts thereof,  manufactured,  mined,  or  produced  by  it, 
or  under  its  authority,  or  which  it  may  own  in  whole  or 
in  part,  or  in  which  it  may  have  any  interest,  direct  or 
indirect,  except  such  articles  or  commodities  as  may  be 
necessary  and  intended  for  its  use  in  the  conduct  of  its 
business  as  a  common  carrier. 

Any  common  carrier  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this 
Act,  upon  application  of  any  lateral,  branch  line  of  rail- 
road, or  of  any  shipper  tendering  interstate  traffic  for 
transportation,  shall  construct,  maintain,  and  operate 
upon  reasonable  terms  a  switch  connection  with  any  suchdutyartoiecr0^ 
lateral,  branch  line  of  railroad,  or  private  side  track  connections!*011 
which  may  be  constructed  to  connect  with  its  railroad, 
where  such  connection  is  reasonably  practicable  and  can 
be  put  in  with  safety  and  will  furnish  sufficient  business 
to  justify  the  construction  and  maintenance  of  the  same; 
and  shall  furnish  cars  for  the  movement  of  such  traffic 
to  the  best  of  its  ability  without  discrimination  in  favor 
of  or  against  any  such  shipper.  If  any  common  carrier 
shall  fail  to  install  and  operate  any  such  switch  or  con- 
nection as  aforesaid,  on  application  therefor  in  writing 
by  any  shipper  or  owner  of  such  lateral,  branch  line  of 
railroad,  such  shipper  or  owner  of  such  lateral,  branch 
line  of  railroad  may  make  complaint  to  the  Commission, 
as  provided  in  section  thirteen  of  this  Act,  and  the  Com- 
mission shall  hear  and  investigate  the  same  and  shall  de- 
termine as  to  the  safety  and  practicability  thereof  and 
justification  and  reasonable  compensation  therefor,  and 
the  Commission  may  make  an  order,  as  provided  in  sec-  nec^ngb  may 
tion  fifteen  of  this  Act,  directing  the  common  carrier  to **  cromm is* 
comply  with  the  provisions  of  this  section  in  accordance sion- 
with  such  order,  and  such  order  shall  be  enforced  as  here- 
inafter provided  for  the  enforcement  of  all  other  orders 
by  the  Commission,  other  than  orders  for  the  payment  of 
money. 


12  ACT    TO    REGULATE    COMMERCE. 

Sec.  2.  That  if  any  common  carrier  subject  to  the  pro- 
visions of  this  Act  shall,  directly  or  indirectly,  by  any 
special  rate,  rebate,  drawback,  or  other  device,  charge, 
demand,  collect,  or  receive  from  any  person  or  persons  a 
greater  or  less  compensation  for  any  service  rendered,  or 
to  be  rendered,  in  the  transportation  of  passengers  or 
property,  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  act,  than  it 
charges,  demands,  collects,  or  receives  from  any  other 
crimination  He-  person  or  persons  for  doing  for  him  or  them  a  like  and 
blddenand  for  contemporaneous  service  in  the  transportation  of  a  like 
kind  of  traffic  under  substantially  similar  circumstances 
and  conditions,  such  common  carrier  shall  be  deemed 
guilty  of  unjust  discrimination,  which  is  hereby  pro- 
hibited and  declared  to  be  unlawful. 

Sec.  3.  That  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  common  car- 
rier subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  act  to  make  or  give 
reasonabiepre°-  an.v  undue  or  unreasonable  preference  or  advantage  to 
vantage  forbid- anv   particular  person,   company,  firm,   corporation,   or 
den-  locality,  or  any  particular  description  of  traffic,  in  any 

respect  whatsoever,  or  to  subject  any  particular  person, 
company,  firm,  corporation,  or  locality,  or  any  particular 
description  of  traffic,  to  any  undue  or  unreasonable  prej- 
udice or  disadvantage  in  any  respect  whatsoever. 

Every  common  carrier  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this 
Act  shall,  according  to  their  respective  powers,  afford  all 
interchange foi -reasonable,   proper,   and  equal    facilities   for  the  inter- 
traffic  change  of  traffic  between  their  respective  lines,  and  for 
the  receiving,  forwarding,  and  delivering  of  passengers 
and  property  to  and  from  their  several  lines  and  those 
Discrimina- connecting  therewith,  and  shall  not  discriminate  in  their 

tion      between  B 

connecting  rates  and  charges  between  such  connecting  lines;  but  this 

lines  forbidden.  °  .  ° 

shall  not  be  construed  as  requiring  any  such  common  car- 
rier to  give  the  use  of  its  tracks  or  terminal  facilities  to 
another  carrier  engaged  in  like  business. 

Sec.  4.   {As  amended  June  18,  1910.)  That  it  shall  be 
unlawful  for  any  common  carrier  subject  to  the  provi- 
sions of  this  Act  to  charge  or  receive  any  greater  com- 
pensation in  the  aggregate  for  the  transportation  of  pas- 
l  o  n  g  and  sengers,  or  of  like  kind  of  propertv,  for  a  shorter  than  for 

short  haul  pro-       -&  ..  -,  -,'  , 

vision.  a  longer  distance  over  the  same  line  or  route  in  the  same 

direction,  the  shorter  being  included  within  the  longer 
distance,  or  to  charge  any  greater  compensation  as  a 
through  route  than  the  aggregate  of  the  intermediate 
rates  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  Act ;  but  this  shall 
not  be  construed  as  authorizing  any  common  carrier  with- 


ACT   TO   EEGULATE   COMMERCE.  13 

in  the  terms  of  this  Act  to  charge  or  receive  as  great  com- 
pensation for  a  shorter  as  for  a  longer  distance :  Provided, 
however,  That  upon  application  to  the  Interstate  Com-    commission 

'  .  l  f^  .  .  has   authority 

merce  Commission  such  common  carrier  mav  in  special  to  relieve  car- 

.  V       /-*  •       riers  from    the 

cases,  after  investigation,  be  authorized  bv  the  Commis-  operation  of 

"  tli is  section 

si  on  to  charge  less  for  longer  than  for  shorter  distances 
for  the  transportation  of  passengers  or  property;  and 
the  Commission  may  from  time  to  time  prescribe  the  ex- 
tent to  which  such  designated  common  carrier  may  be 
relieved  from  the  operation  of  this  section:  Provided 
further,  That  no  rates  or  charges  lawfully  existing  at  the 
time  of  the  passage  of  this  amendatory  Act  shall  be 
required  to  be  changed  by  reason  of  the  provisions  of  this 
section  prior  to  the  expiration  of  six  months  after  the 
passage  of  this  Act,  nor  in  any  case  where  application 
shall  have  been  filed  before  the  Commission,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  provisions  of  this  section,  until  a  determi- 
nation of  such  application  by  the  Commission. 

Whenever  a  carrier  by  railroad  shall  in  competition  „  Rates    re- 

*'  r  duced   to  meet 

with  a  water  route  or  routes  reduce  the  rates  on  the  car- water  competi- 

.  ,,  .   .        tion  not  to  be 

riage  of  any  species  ot  freight  to  or  from  competitive  raised  without 

.  .  .         ,  .  permission. 

points,  it  shall  not  be  permitted  to  increase  such  rates 
unless  after  hearing  by  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commis- 
sion it  shall  be  found  that  such  proposed  increase  rests 
upon  changed  conditions  other  than  the  elimination  of 
water  competition. 

Sec.  5.  (As  amended  August  &£,  1912.)  That  it  shall  be 
unlawful  for  any  common  carrier  subject  to  the  provi- 
sions of  this  Act  to  enter  into  any  contract,  agreement,  or 
combination  with  any  other  common  carrier  or  carriers 
for  the  pooling  of  freights  of  different  and  competing  Too  ling  of 
railroads,  or  to  divide  between  them  the  aggregate  or  net  vision  of  earn- 

•,        „  , ,  .  j?         i         -i  i  j.'        in&s  forbidden. 

proceeds  or  the  earnings  of  such  railroads,  or  any  portion 
thereof ;  and  in  any  case  of  an  agreement  for  the  pooling 
of  freights  as  aforesaid,  each  day  of  its  continuance  shall 
be  deemed  a  separate  offense. 

From  and  after  the  first  dav  of  July,  nineteen  hundred     Amendment 

J  '  of    August    24, 

and  fourteen,  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  railroad  com- 1912- 
pany  or  other  common  carrier  subject  to  the  Act  to  regu- 
late commerce  to  own,  lease,  operate,  control,  or  have  any 
interest  whatsoever    (by  stock  ownership  or  otherwise, .  Railroads  not 

v    J  *  '  to    o  w  n    com- 

either  directly,  indirectly,  through  any  holding  company, petjng  water 
or  by  stockholders  or  directors  in  common,  or  in  any  other 
manner)    in    any    common    carrier   by   water   operated 


14  ACT    TO    REGULATE    COMMERCE. 

through  the  Panama  Canal  or  elsewhere  with  which  said 
railroad  or  other  carrier  aforesaid  does  or  may  compete 
for  traffic  or  any  vessel  carrying  freight  or  passengers 
upon  said  water  route  or  elsewhere  with  which  said  rail- 
road or  other  carrier  aforesaid  does  or  may  compete  for 

Penalty.  traffic;  and  in  case  of  the  violation  of  this  provision  each 
day  in  which  such  violation  continues  shall  be  deemed  a 
separate  offense. 

commission      Jurisdiction  is  hereby  conferred  on  the  Interstate  Com- 

t  o      determine  •> 

tfonto  competi'  merce  Commission  to  determine  questions  of  fact  as  to 
the  competition  or  possibility  of  competition,  after  full 
hearing,  on  the  application  of  any  railroad  company  or 
other  carrier.  Such  application  may  be  filed  for  the  pur- 
pose of  determining  whether  any  existing  service  is  in 
violation  of  this  section  and  pray  for  an  order  permitting 
the  continuance  of  any  vessel  or  vessels  already  in  opera- 
tion, or  for  the  purpose  of  asking  an  order  to  install  new 
service  not  in  conflict  with  the  provisions  of  this  para- 
graph. The  Commission  may  on  its  own  motion  or  the 
application  of  any  shipper  institute  proceedings  to  inquire 
into  the  operation  of  any  vessel  in  use  by  any  railroad  or 
other  carrier  which  has  not  applied  to  the  Commission 
and  had  the  question  of  competition  or  the  possibility  of 
nnairders  t0  be  competition  determined  as  herein  provided.     In  all  such 

cases  the  order  of  said  Commission  shall  be  final. 
au^horftyto'ai'-      If  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  shall  be  of  the 
o°fWcertIhir  ves^  opinion  that  any  such  existing  specified  service  by  water 
raiiroadsf    by  other  than  through  the  Panama  Canal  is  being  operated 
in  the  interest  of  the  public  and  is  of  advantage  to  the 
convenience  and  commerce  of  the  people,  and  that  such 
extension  will  neither  exclude,  prevent,  nor  reduce  com- 
petition on  the  route  by  water  under  consideration,  the 
Interstate  Commerce  Commission  may,  by  order,  extend 
the  time  during  which  such  service  by  water  may  continue 
to  be  operated  beyond  July  first,  nineteen  hundred  and 
Rates  of  such  fourteen.     In   every   case   of   such   extension   the   rates, 

water    carriers  J 

*  ?tub  e„  fi  ]  e. d  schedules,  and  practices  of  such  water  carrier  shall  be 

with     Commis-  ,     -  r 

sion.  filed  with  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  and  shall 

be  subject  to  the  Act  to  regulate  commerce  and  all  amend- 
ments thereto  in  the  same  manner  and  to  the  same  extent 
as  is  the  railroad  or  other  common  carrier  controlling  such 
water  carrier  or  interested  in  any  manner  in  its  operation : 
Provided,  Any  application  for  extension  under  the  terms 
of  this  provision  filed  with  the  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mission prior  to  July  first,  nineteen  hundred  and  fourteen. 


ACT   TO   EEGULATE   COMMERCE.  15 

but  for  any  reason  not  heard  and  disposed  of  before  said 
date,  may  be  considered  and  granted  thereafter. 

No  vessel  permitted  to  engage  in  the  coastwise  or  for-  ShJ^^01^  C°J 
eign  trade  of  the  United  States  shall  be  permitted  to  enter  not  to  use 
or  pass  through  said  canal  if  such  ship  is  owned,  char- 
tered, operated,  or  controlled  by  any  person  or  company 
which  is  doing  business  in  violation  of  the  provisions  of 
the  Act  of  Congress  approved  July  second,  eighteen  hun- 
dred and  ninety,  entitled  "An  Act  to  protect  trade  and 
commerce  against  unlawful  restraints  and  monopolies," 
or  the  provisions  of  sections  seventy-three  to  seventy- 
seven,  both  inclusive,  of  an  Act  approved  August  twenty- 
seventh,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-four,  entitled  "An 
Act  to  reduce  taxation,  to  provide  revenue  for  the  Govern- 
ment, and  for  other  purposes,"  or  the  provisions  of  any 
other  Act  of  Congress  amending  or  supplementing  the 
said  Act  of  July  second,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety, 
commonly  known  as  the  Sherman  Antitrust  Act,  and 
amendments  thereto,  or  said  sections  of  the  Act  of  August 
twenty-seventh,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-four.  The 
question  of  fact  may  be  determined  by  the  judgment  of 
any  court  of  the  United  States  of  competent  jurisdiction 
in  any  cause  pending  before  it  to  which  the  owners  or 
operators  of  such  ship  are  parties.  Suit  may  be  brought 
by  any  shipper  or  by  the  Attorney  General  of  the  United 
States. 

Sec.  6.   (Amended  March  2,  1889.    Following  section 
substituted  June  29,  1906.    Am-ended  June  18,  1910,  and 
August  2^,  1912.)  That  every  common  carrier  subject  to 
the  provisions  of  this  Act  shall  file  with  the  Commission 
created  by  this  Act  and  print  and  keep  open  to  public 
inspection  schedules  showing  all  the  rates,  fares,   and 
charges  for  transportation  between  different  points  on 
its  own  route  and  between  points  on  its  own  route  and 
points  on  the  route  of  any  other  carrier  by  railroad,  by 
pipe  line,  or  by  water  when  a  through  route  and  joint 
rate  have  been  established.     If  no  joint  rate  over  the 
through  route  has  been  established,  the  several  carriers 
in  such  through  route  shall  file^  print  and  keep  open  to    ^^f^l  *■$ 
public  inspection  as  aforesaid,  the  separately  established  s ^h e tales   ot 
rates,  fares  and  charges  applied  to  the  through  trans- charges  hiciu^- 
portation.     The  schedules  printed  as  aforesaid  by  any  regulations  a*- 
such  common  carrier  shall  plainly  state  the  places  be-same,icing,stor- 

l  J  r  age,  and  termi- 

tween  which  property  and  passengers  will  be  carried,  andn a  1  charges, 
shall  contain  the  classification  of  freight  in  force,  and  classification*. 


16  ACT   TO   REGULATE   COMMERCE. 

shall  also  state  separately  all  terminal  charges,  storage 
charges,  icing  charges,  and  all  other  charges  which  the 
Commission    may    require,    all    privileges    or    facilities 
granted  or  allowed  and  any  rules  or  regulations  which  in 
any  wise  change,  affect,  or  determine  any  part  or  the 
aggregate  of  such  aforesaid  rates,  fares,  and  charges,  or 
the  value  of  the  service  rendered  to  the  passenger,  ship- 
per, or  consignee.    Such  schedules  shall  be  plainly  printed 
in  large  type,  and  copies  for  the  use  of  the  public  shall  be 
kept  posted  in  two  public  and  conspicuous  places  in  every 
depots  station,  or  office  of  such  carrier  where  passengers 
or  freight,  respectively,  are  received  for  transportation, 
in  such  form  that  they  shall  be  accessible  to  the  public 
and  can  be  conveniently  inspected.     The  provisions  of 
this  section  shall  apply  to  all  traffic,  transportation,  and 
facilities  defined  in  this  Act. 
P o^ung  aof     Any  common  carrier  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this 
ratebeonUfreight  Act  receiving  freight  in  the  United  States  to  be  carried 
^foreign  rc°o"  nh  through  a  foreign  country  to  any  place  in  the  United 
States  shall  also  in  like  manner  print  and  keep  open  to 
public  inspection,  at  every  depot  or  office  where  such 
freight  is  received  for  shipment,  schedules  showing  the 
through  rates  established  and  charged  by  such  common 
carrier  to  all  points  in  the  United  States  beyond  the  for- 
eign country  to  which  it  accepts  freight  for  shipment; 
.iect  to  customs  and  any  freight  shipped  from  the  United  States  through 
failure  to  pub-  a  foreign  country  into  the  United  States  the  through  rate 
rates.  on  which  shall  not  have  been  made  public,  as  required  by 

this  Act,  shall,  before  it  is  admitted  into  the  United 
States  from  said  foreign  country,  be  subject  to  customs 
duties  as  if  said  freight  were  of  foreign  production. 
pubiKotiraof  ^°  change  shall  be  made  in  the  rates,  fares,  and  charges 
mustgebinglven!  or  ]°int  rates,  fares,  and  charges  which  have  been  filed 
and  published  by  any  common  carrier  in  compliance  with 
the  requirements  of  this  section,  except  after  thirty  days' 
notice  to  the  Commission  and  to  the  public  published  as 
aforesaid,  which  shall  plainly  state  the  changes  proposed 
to  be  made  in  the  schedule  then  in  force  and  the  time 
when  the  changed  rates,  fares,  or  charges  will  go  into 
effect ;  and  the  proposed  changes  shall  be  shown  by  print- 
ing new  schedules,  or  shall  be  plainly  indicated  upon  the 
schedules  in  force  at  the  time  and  kept  open  to  public 
inspection:  Provided,  That  the  Commission  may,  in  its 
discretion  and  for  good  cause  shown,  allow  changes  upon 


ACT   TO   REGULATE   COMMEECE.  ]  7 

less  than  the  notice  herein  specified,  or  modify  the  re"  may°modifySiren 
quirements  of  this  section  in  respect  to  publishing,  post-  ^/^secnon  °f 
ing,  and  filing  of  tariffs,  either  in  particular  instances  or 
by  a  general  order  applicable  to  special  or  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances or  conditions. 

The  names  of  the  several  carriers  which  are  parties  to  ^j™^  t^,8. 
any  joint  tariff  shall  be  specified  therein,  and  each  of  the  £ame.ss  J^S: 
parties  thereto,  other  than  the  one  filing  the  same,  shall  ^£g-  of  Ec^; 
file  with  the  Commission  such  evidence  of  concurrence  currence. 
therein  or  acceptance  thereof  as  may  be  required  or  ap- 
proved by  the  Commission,  and  where  such  evidence  of 
concurrence  or  acceptance  is  filed  it  shall  not  be  necessary 
for  the  carriers  filing  the  same  to  also  file  copies  of  the 
tariffs  in  which  they  are  named  as  parties. 

Every  common  carrier  subject  to  this  Act  shall  also  filetl.(^0Pti|soafgcr<^; 
with  said  Commission  copies  -of  all  contracts,  agreements,  ™nngeSme£[s  ££ 
or  arrangements  with  other  common  carriers  in  relation  ^^s  ^g*™®^ 
to  any  traffic  affected  by  the  provisions  of  this  Act  to^*h  Commis- 
which  it  may  be  a  party. 

The  Commission  may  determine  and  prescribe  the  f orm  m  f  y^escrii.e 
in  which  the  schedules  required  by  this  section  to  be  kept  f°™s  of  sched- 
open  to  public  inspection  shall  be  prepared  and  arranged 
and  may  change  the  form  from  time  to  time  as  shall  be 
found  expedient. 

No  carrier,  unless  otherwise  provided  by  this  Act,  shall  BhJ}i  engage  In 
engage  or  participate  in  the  transportation  of  passengers  unf£g%.tofl\°g 
or  property,  as  defined  in  this  Act,  unless  the  rates,  f ares, »  n^  puw^hes 
and  charges  upon  which  the  same  are  transported  by  said  charges   there- 
carrier  have  been  filed  and  published  in  accordance  with 
the  provisions  of  this  Act ;  nor  shall  any  carrier  charge  or 
demand  or  collect  or  receive  a  greater  or  less  or  different 
compensation  for  such  transportation  of  passengers  or 
property,   or  for   any   service   in  connection   therewith, 
between  the  points  named  in  such  tariffs  than  the  rates,    FuMished 

*  .  .  rates    to    be 

fares,  and  charges  which  are  specified  in  the  tariff  filed  strictly  ob- 
and  in  effect  at  the  time ;  nor  shall  any  carrier  refund  or 
remit  in  any  manner  or  by  any  device  any  portion  of  the 
rates,  fares,  and  charges  so  specified,  nor  extend  to  any 
shipper  or  person  any  privileges  or  facilities  in  the  trans- 
portation of  passengers  or  property,  except  such  as  are 
specified  in  such  tariffs:  Provided,  That  wherever  the     "Carrier" 

"  '  means      com- 

word  "  carrier  "  occurs  in  this  Act  it  shall  be  held  to  meanmon  carrier." 
u  common  carrier." 

66170°^-14 2 


18  ACT   TO   REGULATE   COMMERCE. 

Preference     That  in  time  of  war  or  threatened  war  preference  and 

and   expedition  r 

of  militaryprececlence  shall,  upon  the  demand  of  the  President  of 

traffic    in   time1  .  * 

of  war.  the  United  States,  be  given,  over  all  other  traffic,  to  the 

transportation  of  troops  and  material  of  war,  and  car- 
riers shall  adopt  every  means  within  their  control  to 
facilitate  and  expedite  the  military  traffic. 

The   Commission  may  reject   and  refuse  to  file   any 

o^j^n™6 is  schedule  that  is  tendered  for  filing  which  does  not  pro- 

191°-  vide  and  give  lawful  notice  of  its  effective  date,  and  any 

com  mission  schedule  so  rejected  by  the  Commission  shall  be  void  and 

id  &y     rcifict. 

certain    sched-its  use  shall  be  unlawful. 

nlcs. 

In  case  of  failure  or  refusal  on  the  part  of  any  carrier, 
receiver,  or  trustee  to  comply  with  the  terms  of  any  regu- 
lation adopted  and  promulgated  or  any  order  made  by 
the  Commission  under  the  provisions  of  this  section,  such 
Penalty  f  o  r  carrier,  receiver,  or  trustee  shall  be  liable  to  a  penalty  of 

failure  to  com-  '  *  * 

ply  with  regu-five  hundred  dollars  for  each  such  offense,  and  twenty-five 

lation. 

dollars  for  each  and  every  day  of  the  continuance  of  such 
offense,  which  shall  accrue  to  the  United  States  and  may 
be  recovered  in  a  civil  action  brought  by  the  United 
States, 
furalsh" ' ewrit°  ^  any  common  carrier  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this 
of  ?ateatement  Ax^  after  written  request  made  upon  the  agent  of  such 
carrier  hereinafter  in  this  section  referred  to,  by  any  per- 
son or  company  for  a  written  statement  of  the  rate  or 
charge  applicable  to  a  described  shipment  between  stated 
places  under  the  schedules  or  tariffs  to  which  such  carrier 
is  a  party,  shall  refuse  or  omit  to  give  such  written  state- 
ment within  a  reasonable  time,  or  shall  misstate  in  writ- 
ing the  applicable  rate,  and  if  the  person  or  company 
making  such  request  suffers  damage  in  consequence  of 
such  refusal  or  omission  or  in  consequence  of  the  mis- 
penaity    for  statement  of  the  rate,  either  through  making  the  ship- 

misstatement  .  ~ 

of  rate.  ment  over  a  fine  or  route  tor  which  the  proper  rate  is 

higher  than  the  rate  over  another  available  line  or  route, 
or  through  entering  into  any  sale  or  other  contract  where- 
under  such  person  or  company  obligates  himself  or  itself 
to  make  such  shipment  of  freight  at  his  or  its  cost,  then 
the  said  carrier  shall  be  liable  to  a  penalty  of  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars,  which  shall  accrue  to  the  United 
States  and  may  be  recovered  in  a  civil  action  brought  by 
the  United  States. 

rieV's  agent  to  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  every  carrier  by  railroad  to  keep 
po6  at  all  times  conspicuously  posted  in  every  station  where 


ACT   TO   REGULATE   COMMERCE.  19 

freight  is  received  for  transportation  the  name  of  an 
agent  resident  in  the  city,  village,  or  town  where  such 
station  is  located,  to  whom  application  may  be  made  for 
the  information  by  this  section  required  to  be  furnished 
on  written  request;  and  in  case  any  carrier  shall  fail  at 
any  time  to  have  such  name  so  posted  in  any  station,  it 
shall  be  sufficient  to  address  such  request  in  substantially 
the  following  form :  "  The  Station  Agent  of  the 


Company  at Station,"  together  with  the  name  of 

the  proper  post  office,  inserting  the  name  of  the  carrier  . 
company  and  of  the  station  in  the  blanks,  and  to  serve 
the  same  by  depositing  the  request  so  addressed,  with 
postage  thereon  prepaid,  in  any  post  office. 

When  property  may  be  or  is  transported  from  point  to  of A™®ndg™e24fc 
point  in  the  United  States  by  rail  and  water  through  the  1912. 
Panama  Canal  or  otherwise,  the  transportation  being  by 
a  common  carrier  or  carriers,  and  not  entirely  within  the 
limits  of  a  single  State,  the  Interstate  Commerce  Com-  hacsomjSScn 
mission  shall  have  jurisdiction  of  such  transportation  *nd water  traf- 
and  of  the  carriers,  both  by  rail  and  by  water,  which  may  p£rtjculars.tain 
or  do  engage  in  the  same,  in  the  following  particulars,  in 
addition  to  the  jurisdiction  given  by  the  Act  to  regulate 
commerce,  as  amended  June  eighteenth,  nineteen  hundred 
and  ten : 

(a)   To  establish  physical  connection  between  the  lines n f^on  °t>e- 
of  the  rail  carrier  and  the  dock  of  the  water  carrier  by  ^den  docLlmof 
directing  the  rail  carrier  to  make  suitable  connection  be- water  carriers« 
tween  its  line  and  a  track  or  tracks  which  have  been  con- 
structed from  the  dock  to  the  limits  of  its  right  of  way, 
or  by  directing  either  or  both  the  rail  and  water  carrier, 
individually  or  in  connection  with  one  another,  to  con- 
struct and  connect  with  the  lines  of  the  rail  carrier  a 
spur  track  or  tracks  to  the  dock.     This  provision  shall 
only  apply  where  such  connection  is  reasonably  practi- 
cable, can  be  made  with  safety  to  the  public,  and  where 
the  amount  of  business  to  be  handled  is  sufficient  to  jus- 
tify the  outlay. 

The  Commission  shall  have  full  authority  to  determine  ma5°tetermine 
the  terms  and  conditions  upon  which  these  connecting  J^ms^and  con- 
tracks,  when  constructed,  shall  be  operated,  and  it  may,  ^^n.  aM 
either  in  the  construction  or  the  operation  of  such  tracks, 
determine  what  sum  shall  be  paid  to  or  by  either  carrier. 
The  provisions  of  this  paragraph  shall  extend  to  cases 


20  ACT   TO   REGULATE   COMMERCE. 

where  the  dock  is  owned  by  other  parties  than  the  car- 
rier involved. 
routes  and ^ofnt      (D)  To  establish  through  routes  and  maximum  joint 
rliiesana*waete?  rates  between  and  over  such  rail  and  water  lines,  and  to 
determine  all  the  terms  and  conditions  under  which  such 
lines  shall  be  operated  in  the  handling  of  the  traffic  em- 
braced. 
rates°ptotl0anna(j      (c)   To  establish  maximum  proportional  rates  by  rail 

from  ports.        tQ  an(j  frQm  ^  portg  tQ  ^ich  the  traffic  fe  brought,  or 

.    fi'om  which  it  is  taken  by  the  water  carrier,  and  to  deter- 
mine to  what  traffic  and  in  connection  with  what  vessels 
and  upon   what  terms  and  conditions  such   rates  shall 
apply.     By   proportional   rates  are  meant  those  which 
differ  from  the  corresponding  local  rates  to  and  from  the 
port   and   which   apply  only  to  traffic  which  has  been 
brought  to  the  port  or  is  carried  from  the  port  by  a  com- 
mon carrier  by  water. 
routes andjofnt  •    (d)   If  any  rail  carrier  subject  to  the  Act  to  regulate 
ran  and  water  commerce  enters  into  arrangements  with  any  water  car- 
paoVietrSin0Itherier  operating  from  a  port  in  the  United  States  to  a  for- 
tom  a    foreign  eign  country,  through  the  Panama  Canal  or  otherwise,  for 
Canairy       * a  the  handling  of  through  business  between  interior  points 
cf  the  United  States  and  such  foreign  country,  the  Inter- 
state Commerce  Commission  may  require  such  railway  to 
enter  into  similar  arrangements  with  any  or  all  other 
lines  of  steamships  operating  from  said  port  to  the  same 
foreign  country, 
before  the  Com-     The  orders  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  re- 
force  these  lating  to  this  section  shall  only  be  made  upon  formal  com- 
plaint or  in  proceedings  instituted  by  the  Commission  of 
its  own  motion  and  after  full  hearing.     The  orders  pro- 
vided for  in  the  two  amendments  to  the  Act  to  regulate 
commerce  enacted  in  this  section  shall  be  served  in  the 
same  manner  and  enforced  by  the  same  penalties  and  pro- 
ceedings as  are  the  orders  of  the  Commission  made  under 
the  provisions  of  section  fifteen  of  the  Act  to  regulate 
commerce,  as  amended  June  eighteenth,  nineteen  hundred 
and  ten,  and  they  may  be  conditioned  for  the  payment  of 
any  sum  or  the  giving  of  security  for  the  payment  of  any 
sum  or  the  discharge  of  any  obligation  which  may  be  re- 
quired by  the  terms  of  said  order. 

Sec.  7.  That  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  common  car- 
rier subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  Act  to  enter  into  any 
combination,  contract,  or  agreement,  expressed  or  im- 


ACT   TO   REGULATE   COMMERCE.  21 

plied,  to  prevent,  by  change  of  time  schedule,  carriage  in 
different  cars,  or  by  other  means  or  devices,  the  carriage 
of  freights  from  being  continuous  from  the  place  of  ship- 
ment to  the  place  of  destination;  and  no  break  of  bulk, 
stoppage,  or  interruption  made  by  such  common  carrier 
shall  prevent  the  carriage  of  freights  from  being  and 
being:  treated  as  one  continuous  carriage  from  the  place ^  Carriage    of 

fe  °  x  freights     must 

of  shipment  to  the  place  of  destination,  unless  such  break,  be   treated   as 

L  r  .  .    .  .     '  continuous  un- 

stoppage,  or  interruption  was  made  m  good  faith  tor  Jess  stoppage  is 

llt5'  r  .  -iin  S°od  faith. 

some  necessary  purpose,  and  without  any  intent  to  avoid 
or  unnecessarily  interrupt  such  continuous  carriage  or  to 
evade  any  of  the  provisions  of  this  Act. 

Sec.  8.  That  in  case  any  common  carrier  subject  to  the 
provisions  of  this  Act  shall  do,  cause  to  be  done,  or  permit 
to  be  done  any  act,  matter,  or  thing  in  this  Act  prohibited 
or  declared  to  be  unlawful,  or  shall  omit  to  do  any  act, 
matter,  or  thing  in  this  Act  required  to  be  done,  such  com- 
mon carrier  shall  be  liable  to  the  person  or  persons  in-  Liability  of 
jured  therebv  for  the  full  amount  of  damages  sustained riera  for  dam- 

p  ■>•■>,■  j»  ,i  •    •  pages  caused  by 

in  consequence  of  anv  such  violation  ot  the  provisions  oi  violation    of 

.  this  act 

this  Act,  together  with  a  reasonable  counsel  or  attorney's 
fee,  to  be  fixed  by  the  court  in  every  case  of  recoverv. 
which  attorney's  fee  shall  be  taxed  and  collected  as  part 
of  the  costs  in  the  case. 
Sec.  9.  That  anv  person  or  persons  claiming  to  be  dam-     Persona 

,   ,  ...  ,  .    .  j.  claiming  to  be 

aged  bv  anv  common  carrier  subject  to  the  provisions  ot  damaged  may 

.  j^t  •  ■  g  1  g  c  t   whcttid* 

this  Act  may  either  make  complaint  to  the  Commission  as  to  complain  to 
hereinafter  provided  for,  or  may  bring  suit  in  his  or  their  sion   or   bring. 
own  behalf  for  the  recovery  of  the  damages  for  which  united    states 
such  common  carrier  may  be  liable  under  the  provisions 
of  this  Act,  in  any  district  or  circuit  court  of  the  United 
States  of  competent  jurisdiction ;  but  such  person  or  per- 
sons shall   not  have   the   right  to  pursue  both   of  said 
remedies,  and  must  in  each  case  elect  which  one  of  the 
two  methods  of  procedure  herein  provided  for  he  or  they 
will  adopt.    In  any  such  action  brought  for  the  recovery 
of  damages  the  court  before  which  the  same  shall  be 
pending  mav  compel  any  director,  officer,  receiver,  trus-    officers     of 

£     ,  .  ,   j,       ,         defendant  may 

tee,  or  agent  ot  the  corporation  or  company  defendant  be  compelled  to 

in  such  suit  to  attend,  appear,  and  testify  in  such  case,  s  h  a  1 1  receive 

and  may  compel  the  production  of  the  books  and  papers 

of  such  corporation  or  company  party  to  any  such  suit; 

the  claim  that  any  such  testimony  or  evidence  may  tend 

to  criminate  the  person  giving  such  evidence  shall  not 

excuse  such  witness  from  testifying,  but  such  evidence 


'2:2  ACT   TO   REGULATE   COMMEECE. 

or  testimony  shall  not  be  used  against  such  person  on  the 
trial  of  any  criminal  proceeding. 
Penalties  for      Sec.   10.   (As  amended  March  2,  1889,  and  June  18, 
let  bye arriers,  1910. )  That  any  common  carrier  subject  to  the  provisions 

or     when     the      »   ,-.  '■       .  ,  , 

carrier  is  a  or  this  Act,  or,  whenever  such  common  carrier  is  a  cor- 
officers1,tla0gentsSporation,  any  director  or  officer  thereof,  or  any  receiver, 
FrineeDandyefm-  trustee,  lessee,  agent,  or  person  acting  for  or  employed  by 
pnsonment.  suc}1  corporation,  who,  alone  or  with  any  other  corpora- 
tion, company,  person,  or  party,  shall  willfully  do  or  cause 
to  be  done,  or  shall  willingly  suffer  or  permit  to  be  done, 
any  act,  matter,  or  thing  in  this  Act  prohibited  or  de- 
clared to  be  unlawful,  or  who  shall  aid  or  abet  therein,  or 
shall  willfully  omit  or  fail  to  do  any  act,  matter,  or  thing 
in  this  Act  required  to  be  done,  or  shall  cause  or  willingly 
suffer  or  permit  any  act,  matter,  or  thing  so  directed  or 
required  by  this  Act  to  be  done  not  to  be  so  done,  or  shall 
aid  or  abet  anv  such  omission  or  failure,  or  shall  be  guilty 
of  any  infraction  of  this  Act  for  which  no  penalty  is 
otherwise  provided,  or  who  shall  aid  or  abet  therein,  shall 
be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  shall,  upon  con- 
viction thereof  in  any  district  court  of  the  United  States 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  which  such  offense  was  com- 
mitted, be  subject  to  a  fine  of  not  to  exceed  five  thousand 
dollars  for  each  offense:  Provided,  That  if  the  offense  for 
which  any  person  shall  be  convicted  as  aforesaid  shall  be 
an  unlawful  discrimination  in  rates,  fares,  or  charges  for 
the  transportation  of  passengers  or  property,  such  person 
shall,  in  addition  to  the  fine  hereinbefore  provided  for, 
be  liable  to  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  for  a  term 
of  not  exceeding  two  years,  or  both  such  fine  and  im- 
prisonment, in  the  discretion  of  the  court. 
Penalties  for      Anv  common  carrier  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this 

false       billing,    .  .  ,  . 

etc.,    by    car-  Act.  or,  whenever  such  common  carrier  is  a  corporation. 

riers,  their  offi-  „,  ,,  <.  . .  . 

cers  or  agents :  any  officer  or  agent  thereof,  or  any  person  acting  for  or 
prisonment.  employed  by  such  corporation,  who,  by  means  of  false 
billing,  false  classification,  false  weighing,  or  false  report 
of  weight,  or  by  any  other  device  or  means,  shall  know- 
ingly and  willfully  assist,  or  shall  willingly  suffer  or  per- 
mit, any  person  or  persons  to  obtain  transportation  for 
property  at  less  than  the  regular  rates  then  established 
and  in  force  on  the  line  of  transportation  of  such  common 
carrier,  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and 
shall,  upon  conviction  thereof  in  any  court  of  the  United 
States  of  competent  jurisdiction  within  the  district  in 


ACT   TO   KEGULATE   COMMEECE.  23 

which  such  offense  was  committed,  be  subject  to  a  fine  of 
not  exceeding  five  thousand  dollars,  or  imprisonment  in 
the  penitentiary  for  a  term  of  not  exceeding  two  years, 
or  both,  in  the  discretion  of  the  court,  for  each  offense. 

Any  person,  corporation,  or  company,  or  any  agent  or^^ff^ 
officer  thereof,  who  shall  deliver  property  for  transporta-  fe%  a^  0BthhiPr 
tion  to  any  common  carrier  subject  to  the  provisions  of  p^801^^ 
this  Act,  or  for  whom,  as  consignor  or  consignee,  any  ment- 
such  carrier  shall  transport  property,  who  shall  know- 
ingly and  willfully,  directly  or  indirectly,  himself  or  by 
employee,  agent,  officer,  or  otherwise,  by  false  billing, 
false  classification,  false  weighing,  false  representation 
of  the  contents  of  the  package  or  the  substance  of  the 
property,  false  report  of  weight,  false  statement,  or  by    . 
any  other  device  or  means,  whether  with  or  without 
the  consent  or  connivance  of  the  carrier,  its  agent,  or 
officer,  obtain  or  attempt  to  obtain  transportation  for 
such  property  at  less  than  the  regular  rates  then  estab- 
lished and  in  force  on  the  line  of  transportation ;  or  who 
shall   knowingly   and   willfully,   directly   or   indirectly, 
himself  or  by  employee,  agent,  officer,  or  otherwise,  by 
false  statement  or  representation  as  to  cost,  value,  nature, 
or  extent  of  injury,  or  by  the  use  of  any  false  bill,  bill  of 
lading,  receipt,  voucher,  roll,  account,  claim,  certificate, 
affidavit,  or  deposition,  knowing  the  same  to  be  false, 
fictitious,  or  fraudulent,  or  to  contain  any  false,  fictitious, 
or  fraudulent  statement  or  entry,  obtain  or  attempt  to 
obtain  any  allowance,  refund,  or  payment  for  damage  or 
otherwise  in  connection  with  or  growing  out  of  the  trans- 
portation of  or  agreement  to  transport  such  property, 
whether  with  or  without  the  consent  or  connivance  of  the 
carrier,  whereby  the  compensation  of  such  carrier  for 
such  transportation,  either  before  or  after  payment,  shall 
in  fact  be  made  less  than  the  regular  rates  then  established 
and  in  force  on  the  line  of  transportation,  shall  be  deemed 
guilty  of  fraud,  which  is  hereby  declared  to  be  a  misde- 
meanor, and  shall,  upon  conviction  thereof  in  any  court 
of  the  United  States  of  competent  jurisdiction  within  the 
district  in  which  such  offense  was  wholly  or  in  part  com- 
mitted, be  subject  for  each  offense  to  a  fine  of  not  exceed- 
ing five  thousand  dollars  or  imprisonment  in  the  peniten- 
tiary for  a  term  of  not  exceeding  two  years,  or  both,  in 
the  discretion  of  the  court :  Provided,  That  the  penalty  of 
imprisonment  shall  not  apply  to  artificial  persons. 


24  ACT   TO   REGULATE   COMMERCE. 

indu°£giecomr-  -^  any  sucn  Personj  or  any  officer  or  agent  of  any  such 
tod?scHminatecorPora^on  or  company,  shall,  by  payment  of  money  or 
unjustly:  Fme0ther  thine:  of  value,  solicitation,  or  otherwise,  induce  or 

and  imprison-  to  * 

liabfuV  w'fth attempt  to  induce  any  common  carrier  subject  to  the  pro- 
carrier  for visions  0f  this  Act,  or  any  of  its  officers  or  agents,  to  dis- 

damages.  m  .       .  . 

criminate  unjustly  in  his,  its,  or  their  favor  as  against 

any  other  consignor  or  consignee  in  the  transportation  of 
property,  or  shall  aid  or  abet  any  common  carrier  in  any 
such  unjust  discrimination,  such  person  or  such  officer  or 
agent  of  such  corporation  or  company  shall  be  deemed 
guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  shall,  upon  conviction 
thereof  in  any  court  of  the  United  States  of  competent 
jurisdiction  within  the  district  in  which  such  offense  was 
committed,  be  subject  to  a  fine  of  not  exceeding  five 
thousand  dollars,  or  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  for 
a  term  of  not  exceeding  two  years:  or  both,  in  the  discre- 
tion of  the  court,  for  each  offense ;  and  such  person,  cor- 
poration, or  company  shall  also,  together  with  said  com- 
mon carrier,  be  liable,  jointly  or  severally,  in  an  action 
to  be  brought  by  any  consignor  or  consignee  discrimi- 
nated against  in  any  court  of  the  United  States  of  com- 
petent jurisdiction  for  all  damages  caused  by  or  resulting 
therefrom. 
c  o'mm'eV^e  Sec.  11.  That  a  Commission  is  hereby  created  and  es- 
ers— meufod0 of  tablished  to  be  known  as  the  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
£P^^{?mment  mission,  which  shall  be  composed  of  five  Commissioners, 
who  shall  be  appointed  by  the  President,  by  and  with  the 
advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate.  The  Commissioners 
first  appointed  under  this  Act  shall  continue  in  office  for 
the  term  of  two,  three,  four,  five,  and  six  years,  respec- 
tively, from  the  first  day  of  January,  Anno  Domini 
eighteen  hundred  and  eighty-seven,  the  term  of  each  to  be 
designated  by  the  President ;  but  their  successors  shall  be 
appointed  for  terms  of  six  years,  except  that  any  person 
chosen  to  fill  a  vacancy  shall  be  appointed  only  for  the 
unexpired  time  of  the  Commissioner  whom  he  shall  suc- 
ceed. Any  Commissioner  may  be  removed  by  the  Presi- 
dent for  inefficiency,  neglect  of  duty,  or  malfeasance  in 
office.  Not  more  than  three  of  the  Commissioners  shall 
be  appointed  from  the  same  political  party.  No  person 
in  the  employ  of  or  holding  any  official  relation  to  any 
common  carrier  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  Act,  or 
owning  stock  or  bonds  thereof,  or  who  is  in  any  manner  t 
pecuniarily  interested  therein,  shall  enter  upon  the  duties 
of  or  hold  such  office.    Said  Commissioners  shall  not  en- 


ACT   TO   REGULATE   COMMERCE.  25 

gage  in  any  other  business,  vocation,  or  employment.  No 
vacancy  in  the  Commission  shall  impair  the  right  of  the 
remaining  Commissioners  to  exercise  all  the  powers  of 
the  Commission.  {See  section  21>,  enlarging  Commission 
and  increasing  salaries.) 

Sec.  12.   (As  amended  March  2, 1889,  and  February  10,  toiSf into 
1891.)  That  the  Commission  hereby  created  shall  have  S?^ndfk"p 
authority  to  inquire  into  the  management  of  the  business \^elt  refgaTd 
of  all  common  carriers  subject  to  the  provisions  of  thistheret0- 
Act,  and  shall  keep  itself  informed  as  to  the  manner  and 
method  in  which  the  same  is  conducted,  and  shall  have  to  ^  mission 
the  right  to  obtain  from  such  common  carriers  full  and  |f0f£f  eof prt0^/3 
complete  information  necessary  to  enable  the  Commission  Act- 
to  perform  the  duties  and  carry  out  the  objects  for  which 
it  was  created ;  and  the  Commission  is  hereby  authorized 
and  required  to  execute  and  enforce  the  provisions  of 
this  Act;  and,  upon  the  request  of  the  Commission,  it  shall 
be  the  duty  of  any  district  attorney  of  the  United  States  J^g*}^: 
to  whom  the  Commission  may  apply  to  institute  in  the  £uj£l0£n*|,r  f{- 
proper  court  and  to  prosecute  under  the  direction  of  the  torney General. 
Attorney  General  of  the  United  States  all  necessary  pro- 
ceedings for  the  enforcement  of  the  provisions  of  this  Act 
and  for  the  punishment  of  all  violations  thereof,  and  the 
costs  and  expenses  of  such  prosecution  shall  be  paid  out 
of  the  appropriation  for  the  expenses  of  the  courts  of  the 
United  States:  and  for  the  purposes  of  this  Act  the  Com-     commission 
mission  shall  have  power  to  require,  by  subpoena,  the  at-  Jf^JJ^Jt  *n* 
tendance  and  testimony  of  witnesses  and  the  production  evidence. 
of  all  books,  papers,  tariffs,  contracts,  agreements,  and 
documents  relating  to  any  matter  under  investigation. 

Such  attendance  of  witnesses,  and  the  production  of  cocm°puelitBwltt° 
such  documentary  evidence,  may  be  required  from  any  °nf  e^s°^tend 
place  in  the  United  States,  at  any  designated  place  of 
hearing.  And  in  case  of  disobedience  to  a  subpoena  the 
Commission,  or  any  party  to  a  proceeding  before  the 
Commission,  may  invoke  the  aid  of  any  court  of  the 
United  States  in  requiring  the  attendance  and  testimony 
of  witnesses  and  the  production  of  books,  papers,  and 
documents  under  the  provisions  of  this  section. 

And  any  of  the  circuit  courts  of  the  United  States 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  which  such  inquiry  is  carried 
on  may,  in  case  of  contumacy  or  refusal  to  obey  a  sub- 
poena issued  to  any  common  carrier  subject  to  the  provi- 
sions of  this  Act,  or  other  person,  issue  an  order  requiring 
such  common  carrier  or  other  person  to  appear  before 


'2*  ACT    TO   REGULATE   COMMEBCE. 

-aid  Commission  i  and  produce  books  and  papers  if  so 
ordered")  and  give  evidence  touching  the  matter  in  ques- 
tion :  and  any  failure  to  obey  such  order  of  the  court  may 
:^SUh^3be  pimished  bv  such  court  as  a  contempt  thereof.     The 

testimony  or         r  -  .  r 

in^  n  ^3  claim  that  anv  such  testimonv  or  evidence  mav  tend  to 

.t~i   to  crimi- 
nate win   not  criminate  the  person  giving  such  evidence  shall  not  excuse 

excuse  witcr--  . 

such  witness  from  testifying:  but  such  evidence  or  testi- 
mony shall  not  be  used  against  such  person  on  the  trial  of 
any  criminal  proceeding. 

Depositions.  The  testimony  of  any  witness  may  be  taken,  at  the 
instance  of  a  party,  in  any  proceeding  or  investigation 
pending  before  the  Commission,  by  deposition,  at  any 
time  after  a  cause  or  proceeding  is  at  issue  on  petition  and 

commission  answer.     The  Commission  mav  also  order  testimonv  to  be 

may  order  tes-  ...  *  .  f       . 

timony   to   be  taken  bv  deposition  in  anv  proceeding  or  investigation 

taken  by  depo-  i-        »    *~_     •  m         *  "~       . 

ntion.  pending  before  it.  at  any  stage  of  such  proceeding  or  in- 

vestigation. Such  depositions  may  be  taken  before  any 
judge  of  any  court  of  the  United  States,  or  any  commis- 
sioner of  a  circuit,  or  any  clerk  of  a  district  or  circuit 
court,  or  any  chancellor,  justice,  or  judge  of  a  supreme 
or  superior  court,  mayor  or  chief  magistrate  of  a  city, 
judge  of  a  county  court,  or  court  of  common  pleas  of  any 
of  the  United  States,  or  any  notary  public,  not  being  of 
counsel  or  attorney  to  either  of  the  parties,  nor  interested 
in  the  event  of  the  proceeding  or  investigation.  Reason- 
able notice  must  first  be  given  in  writing  by  the  party  or 
his  attorney  proposing  to  take  such  deposition  to  the 
opposite  party  or  his  attorney  of  record,  as  either  may  be 
nearest,  which  notice  shall  state  the  name  of  the  witness 
and  the  time  and  place  of  the  taking  of  his  deposition. 
Any  person  may  be  compelled  to  appear  and  depose,  and 
to  produce  documentary  evidence,  in  the  same  manner  as 
witnesses  may  be  compelled  to  appear  and  testify  and 
produce  documentary  evidence  before  the  Commission  as 
hereinbefore  provided. 

Every  person  deposing  as  herein  provided  shall  be  cau- 
tioned and  sworn  (or  affirm,  if  he  so  request)  to  testify 
the  whole  truth,  and  shall  be  carefully  examined.  His 
testimony  shall  be  reduced  to  writing  by  the  magistrate 
taking  the  deposition,  or  under  his  direction,  and  shall, 
after  it  has  been  reduced  to  writing,  be  subscribed  by  the 
deponent. 
is^n&  fore^Q  ^  a  witness  "«"hose  testimony  may  be  desired  to  be 
""^  taken  by  deposition  be  in  a  foreign  country,  the  deposition 

may  be  taken  before  an  officer  or  person  designated  by  the 


ACT   TO   EEGULATE    COMMEBCE.  27 

Commission,  or  agreed  upon  by  the  parties  by  stipulation 
in  writing  to  be  filed  with  the  Commission.  All  deposi- 
tions must  be  promptly  filed  with  the  Commission. 

Witnesses  whose  depositions  are  taken  pursuant  to  this  J^^I^J: 
Act.  and  the  magistrate  or  other  officer  taking  the  same. i?rraTes 
shall  severally  be  entitled  to  the  same  fees  as  are  paid  for 
like  services  in  the  courts  of  the  United  States. 

Sec-.  13.   {A*  amended  June  18.  1910.)     That  any  per- cSgffiig 
son.  firm,  corporation,  company,  or  association,  or  any^ow^in^    \ 
mercantile,    agricultural,    or    manufacturing    society    orHow  5f,rTed- 
other  organization,  or  any  body  politic  or  municipal  or- 
ganization, or  any  common  carrier,  complaining  of  any- 
thing done  or  omitted  to  be  done  by  any  common  carrier 
subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  Act.  in  contravention  of 
the  provisions  thereof,  may  apply  to  =aid  Commission  by 
petition,  which  shall  briefly  state  the  facts :  whereupon  a 
statement  of  the  complaint  thus  made  shall  be  forwarded 
by  the  Commission  to  such  common  carrier,  who  shall  be 
called  upon  to  satisfy  the  complaint,  or  to  answer  the 
same  in  writing,  within  a  reasonable  time,  to  be  specified 
by  the  Commission.     If  such  common  carrier  within  the 
time  specified  shall  make  reparation  for  the  injury  al- 
leged to  have  been  done,  the  common  carrier  shall  be  re- 
lieved of  liability  to  the  complainant  only  for  the  partic- 
ular violation  of  law  thus  complained  of.     If  such  car-  toCo^^3i^. 
rier  or  carriers  shall  not  satisfv  the  complaint  within  the  ^if'°   *5 

■  *  TTlHTiTif^r       OX 

time  specified,  or  there  shall  appear  to  be  any  reasonable  aestivation, 
ground  for  investigating  said  complaint,  it  shall  be  the 
duty  of  the  Commission  to  investigate  the  matters  com- 
plained of  in  such  manner  and  by  such  means  as  it  shall 
deem  proper. 

Said  Commission  shall,  in  like  manner  and  with  the 
same  authority  and  powers,  investigate  any  complaint 
forwarded  by  the  railroad  commissioner  or  railroad  com- 
mission of  any  State  or  Territory  at  the  request  of  such 
commissioner  or  commission,   and  the   Interstate   Com-    Commission 

may  issue  or- 

merce  Commission  shall  have  full  authoritv  and  power  dens"  in  invesn- 

.  .     {rations     begun 

at  any  time  to  institute  an  inquiry,  on  its  own  motion,  in  on  its  own  mo- 
anv  case  and  as  to  anv  matter  or  thinor  concernincr  which 
a  complaint  is  authorized  to  be  made,  to  or  before  said 
Commission  by  any  provision  of  this  Act.  or  concerning 
which  any  question  may  arise  under  any  of  the  provi- 
sions of  this  Act.  or  relating  to  the  enforcement  of  any 
of  the  provisions  of  this  Act.  And  the  said  Commission 
shall  have  the  same  powers  and  authority  to  proceed  with 


to 
in- 


28  ACT   TO   REGULATE   COMMERCE. 

any  inquiry  instituted  on  its  own  motion  as  though  it  had 
been  appealed  to  by  complaint  or  petition  under  any  of 
the  provisions  of  this  Act,  including  the  power  to  make 
and  enforce  any  order  or  orders  in  the  case,  or  relating 
to  the  matter  or  thing  concerning  which  the'  inquiry  is 
.  had  excepting  orders  for  the  payment  of  money.  Xo 
complain- complaint  shall  at  any  time  be  dismissed  because  of  the 

ants     interest  *  -.  ■* 

immaterial.       absence  ot  direct  damage  to  the  complainant. 

Sec.  14.   (Amended  March  2, 1889,  and  June  29, 1906.) 
Commission  That  whenever  an  investigation  shall  be  made  by  said 

must    report,  i»  ...".,,,     ".         , 

stating  its  con-  Commission,  it  shall  be  its  dutv  to  make  a  report  in  writ- 

clusions     and..  7  1  •    ■,        "      i 

order.  mg  in  respect  thereto,  which  shall  state  the  conclusions  of 

the  Commission,  together  with  its  decision,  order,  or  re- 
Reparation,    quirement  in  the  premises;   and  in  case   damages   are 
awarded  such  report  shall  include  the  findings  of  fact  on 
which  the  award  is  made. 
Reports  must     All  reports  of  investigations  made  by  the  Commission 

be    entered    of  '  °  J 

record,     serv-  shall  be  entered  of  record,  and  a  copy  thereof  shall  be  fur- 
ice  of  copies  on  rj 

parties.  nished  to  the  party  who  may  have  complained,  and  to  any 

common  carrier  that  may  have  been  complained  of. 
decisfo°nsStoabe      ^ie  Commission  may  provide  for  the  publication  of  its 
published,  and  reports  and  decisions  in  such  form  and  manner  as  mav  be 

be  competent-1 

as  evidence,  best  adapted  for  public  information  and  use,  and  such  au- 
thorized publications  shall  be  competent  evidence  of  the 
reports  and  decisions  of  the  Commission  therein  contained 
in  all  courts  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  several  States 
without  any  further  proof  or  authentication  thereof. 
portsDof 1  com !  The  Commission  may  also  cause  to  be  printed  for  early 
mission.  distribution  its  annual  reports. 

Sec.  15.  (As  amended  June  29.  1906,  and  June  18, 
ma  0de™rmine^^^  That  whenever,  after  full  hearing  upon  a  com- 
%£Lt  andSCrea^  plamt'  made  as  provided  in  section  thirteen  of  this  Act,  or 
andabd  ssificeSa^r  ^lI^  hearmg  under  an  order  for  investigation  and 
tions  to  be  ob-  hearing  made  bv  the  Commission  on  its  own  initiative 

served  asmaxi-   ,    .         &. 

mum  charges,  (either  in  extension  of  any  pending  complaint  or  without 
any  complaint  whatever),  the  Commission  shall  be  of 
opinion  that  any  individual  or  joint  rates  or  charges 
whatsoever  demanded,  charged,  or  collected  by  any  com- 
mon carrier  or  carriers  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this 
Act  for  the  transportation  of  persons  or  property  or  for 
the  transmission  of  messages  by  telegraph  or  telephone  as 
defined  in  the  first  section  of  this  Act,  or  that  any  indi- 
vidual or  joint  classifications,  regulations,  or  practices 
whatsoever  of  such  carrier  or  carriers  subject  to  the  pro- 
visions of  this  Act  are  unjust  or  unreasonable  or  unjustly 


ACT   TO   EEGULATE   COMMERCE.  29 

discriminatory,  or  unduly  preferential  or  prejudicial  or 
otherwise  in  violation  of  any  of  the  provisions  of  this  Act, 
the  Commission  is  hereby  authorized  and  empowered  to  m^y0  ™  minion 
determine  and  prescribe  what  will  be  the  just  and  reason-  ?u°td  p^"^ 
able  individual  or  joint  rate  or  rates,  charge  or  charges,  s°na^en  g  ^s^ 
to  be  thereafter  observed  in  such  case  as  the  maximum  to  p  ™  £  Mf ,eA- 

'     ' '  II I  HI  1  S  S  1  o  u 

be  charged,  and  what  individual  or  joint  classification,  ™ay  01;der  car- 

<=>  j  7  riers    to    cease 

regulation,  or  practice  is  just,  fair,  and  reasonable,  to  be  and ^e^\ f ro™ 
thereafter  followed,  and  to  make  an  order  that  the  carrier  f°und-    Orders 

of     the     Coin- 

or  carriers  shall  cease  and  desist  from  such  violation  to™188'011  effect- 
ive as   pre- 

the  extent  to  which  the  Commission  finds  the  same  tossed,  but  in 

not    less    than 

exist,  and  shall  not  thereafter  publish,  demand,  or  collect  thirty  days. 

any  rate  or  charge  for  such  transportation  or  transmission 

in  excess  of  the  maximum  rate  or  charge  so  prescribed, 

and  shall  adopt  the  classification  and  shall  conform  to  and 

observe  the   regulation   or  practice   so  prescribed.     All  fo°er  dneij s  j£ 

orders  of  the  Commission,  except  orders  for  the  payment  y|aerd ' n  ^ni^g 

of  monev,  shall  take  effect  within  such  reasonable  time, suspended    or 

J  -  '  set  aside  by 

not  less  than  thirty  days,  and  shall  continue  in  force  for  ^™.f ission  or 
such  period  of  time,  not  exceeding  two  years,  as  shall  be 
prescribed  in  the  order  of  the  Commission,  unless  the 
same  shall  be  suspended  or  modified  or  set  aside  by  the 
Commission,  or  be  suspended  or  set  aside  by  a  court  of 
competent  j  urisdiction.     Whenever  the  carrier  or  carriers,  r  j  ^  g  efaiicato 
in  obedience  to  such  order  of  the  Commission  or  other-  aFece  °n  5S*; 
wise,  in  respect  to  joint  rates,  fares,  or  charges,  shall  fail  j;ate,  ^commis- 
to  agree  among  themselves  upon  the  apportionment  or  8£nbe    ProgP°£ 
division   thereof   the    Commission   may,   after   hearing,  ra.te  ,to.  be  re/ 

J '        t  °'  ceived  by  each 

make  a  supplemental  order  prescribing  the  just  and  rea-  carrier, 
sonable  proportion  of  such  joint  rate  to  be  received  by 
each  carrier  party  thereto,  which  order  shall  take  effect 
as  a  part  of  the  original  order. 
Whenever  there  shall  be  filed  with  the  Commission  any    investigation 

J  of   new   sched- 

schedule  stating  a  new  individual  or  joint  rate,  fare,  or^es. 
charge,  or  any  new  individual  or  joint  classification,  or 
any  new  individual  or  joint  regulation  or  practice  affect- 
ing any  rate,  fare,  or  charge,  the  Commission  shall  have, 
and  it  is  hereby  given,  authority,  either  upon  complaint 
or  upon  its  own  initiative  without  complaint,  at  once, 
and  if  it  so  orders,  without  answer  or  other  formal  plead- 
ing by  the  interested  carrier  or  carriers,  but  upon  reason- 
able notice,  to  enter  upon  a  hearing  concerning  the  pro- 
priety of  such  rate,  fare,  charge,  classification^  regulation, 
or  practice;  and  pending  such  hearing  and  the  decision  Commission 
thereon  the  Commission  upon  filing  with  such  schedule  new  schedules. 


30  ACT    TO    REGULATE    COMMERCE. 

and  delivering  to  the  carrier  or  carriers  affected  thereby 
a  statement  in  writing  of  its  reasons  for  such  suspension 
may  suspend  the  operation  of  such  schedule  and  defer 
the  use  of  such  rate,  fare,  charge,  classification,  regula- 
tion, or  practice,  but  not  for  a  longer  period  than  one 
hundred  and  twenty  days  beyond  the  time  when  such 
rate,  fare,  charge,  classification,  regulation,  or  practice 
would  otherwise  go  into  effect ;  and  after  full  hearing, 
whether  completed  before  or  after  the  rate.,  fare,  charge, 
classification,  regulation,  or  practice  goes  into  effect,  the 
Commission  may  make  such  order  in  reference  to  such 
rate,  fare,  charge,  classification,  regulation,  or  practice  as 
would  be  proper  in  a  proceeding  initiated  after  the  rate, 
fare,  charge,  classification,  regulation,  or  practice  had 
mL°^wisL°2 become  effective:  Provided.  That  if  any  such  hearing  can 

ni3.y    extend  '  **  o 

suspension.       no£  ke  concluded   within   the  period  of  suspension,   as 

above  stated^  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  may, 

in  its  discretion,  extend  the  time  of  suspension  for  a  fur- 

proofrdon  caT-tner  period  not  exceeding  six  months.     At  any  hearing 

sonabienessreofinv°lvmfe  a  ra*e  increased  after  January  first,  nineteen 

increased  rates,  hundred  and  ten,  or  of  a  rate  sought  to  be  increased  after 

the  passage  of  this  Act,  the  burden  of  proof  to  show  that 

the  increased  rate  or  proposed  increased  rate  is  just  and 

reasonable  shall  be  upon  the  common  carrier,  and  the 

Commission  shall  give  to  the  hearing  and  decision  of  such 

questions  preference   over   all    other   questions  pending 

before  it  and  decide  the  same  as  speedily  as  possible. 

Commission      j^g  Commission  may  also,  after  hearing,  on  a  com- 

may     establish  ■»  »' 

and°"oint  ?ates  P^am^   or   upon   its   own   initiative   without   complaint, 
an d  ciassifica-  establish   through   routes   and   joint  classifications,   and 

tions.  ... 

may  establish  joint  rates  as  the  maximum  to  be  charged 
and  may  prescribe  the  division  of  such  rates  as  herein- 
before provided  and  the  terms  and  conditions  under 
which  such  through  routes  shall  be  operated,  whenever 
the  carriers  themselves  shall  have  refused  or  neglected  to 
establish  voluntarily  such  through  routes  or  joint  classi- 
fications or  joint  rates;  and  this  provision  shall  apply 
when  one  of  the  connecting  carriers  is  a  water  line.  The 
Commission  shall  not,  however,  establish  any  through 
route,  classification,  or  rate  between  street  electric  pas- 
senger railways  not  engaged  in  the  general  business  of 
transporting  freight  in  addition  to  their  passenger  and 
express  business  and  railroads  of  a  different  character, 
nor  shall  the  Commission  have  the  right  to  establish  any 
route,  classification,  rate,  fare,  or  charge  when  the  trans- 


ACT   TO   REGULATE   COMMERCE.  3l 

portation  is  wholly  by  water,  and  any  transportation  by 
water  affected  by  this  Act  shall  be  subject  to  the  laws  and 
regulations  applicable  to  transportation  by  water. 

And  in  establishing  such  through  route,  the  Commission  oqL im  uation 
shall  not  require  any  company,  without  its  consent,  to  P^0eu|hcr^se 
embrace  in  such  route  substantially  less  than  the  entire 
length  of  its  raikoad  and  of  any  intermediate  railroad 
operated  in  conjunction  and  under  a  common  manage- 
ment or  control  therewith  which  lies  between  the  termini 
of  such  proposed  through  route,  unless  to  do  so  would 
make  such  through  route  unreasonably  long  as  compared 
with  another  practicable  through  route  which  could  other- 
wise be  established. 

In  all  cases  where  at  the  time  of  delivery  of  property    shippers  may 

.,  ,  ,  •         i     •  £      designate  rout- 

to  any  railroad  corporation  being  a  common  carrier,  tor  ing. 
transportation  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  Act  to  any 
point  of  destination,  between  which  and  the  point  of  such 
delivery  for  shipment  two  or  more  through  routes  and 
through  rates  shall  have  been  established  as  in  this  Act 
provided  to  which  through  routes  and  through  rates  such 
carrier  is  a  party,  the  person,  firm,  or  corporation  making 
such  shipment,  subject  to  such  reasonable  exceptions  and 
regulations  as  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  shall 
from  time  to  time  prescribe,  shall  have  the  right  to 
designate  in  writing  by  which  of  such  through  routes 
such  property  shall  be  transported  to  destination,  and  it 
shall  thereupon  be  the  duty  of  the  initial  carrier  to  route 
said  property  and  issue  a  through  bill  of  lading  therefor 
as  so  directed,  and  to  transport  said  property  over  its 
own  line  or  lines  and  deliver  the  same  to  a  connecting 
line  or  lines  according  to  such  through  route,  and  it 
shall  be  the  duty  of  each  of  said  connecting  carriers  to 
receive  said  property  and  transport  it  over  the  said  line 
or  lines  and  deliver  the  same  to  the  next  succeeding  car- 
rier or  consignee  according  to  the  routing  instructions  in 
said  bill  of  lading:  Provided,  hoicever,  That  the  shipper 
shall  in  all  instances  have  the  right  to  determine,  where 
competing  lines  of  railroad  constitute  portions  of  a 
through  line  or  route,  over  which  of  said  competing  lines 
so  constituting  a  portion  of  said  through  line  or  route  his 
freight  shall  be  transported. 

It  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  common  carrier  subject  to  gjyjJ^SJdJj? 
the  provisions  of  this  Act,  or  any  officer,  agent,  or  em-  JSiaTetosi??1- 
ployee  of  such  common  carrier,  or  for  any  other  person  or  ments. 
corporation  lawfully  authorized  by  such  common  car- 


32 


ACT   TO   EEGTJLATE   COMMERCE. 


rier  to  receive  information  therefrom,  knowingly  to  dis- 
close to  or  permit  to  be  acquired  by  any  person  or  cor- 
poration other  than  the  shipper  or  consignee,  without 
the  consent  of  such  shipper  or  consignee,  any  information 
concerning  the  nature,  kind,  quantity,  destination,  con- 
signee, or  routing  of  any  property  tendered  or  delivered 
to  such  common  carrier  for  interstate  transportation, 
which  information  may  be  used  to  the  detriment  or 
prejudice  of  such  shipper  or  consignee,  or  which  may  im- 
properly disclose  his  business  transactions  to  a  competi- 
tor; and  it  shall  also  be  unlawful  for  any  person  or  cor- 
poration to  solicit  or  knowingly  receive  any  such  infor- 

Exceptions.  mation  which  may  be  so  used :  Provided,  That  nothing  in 
this  Act  shall  be  construed  to  prevent  the  giving  of  such 
information  in  response  to  any  legal  process  issued  under 
the  authority  of  any  state  or  federal  court,  or  to  any 
officer  or  agent  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States, 
or  of  any  State  or  Territory,  in  the  exercise  of  his  powers, 
or  to  any  officer  or  other  duly  authorized  person  seeking 
such  information  for  the  prosecution  of  persons  charged 
with  or  suspected  of  crime;  or  information  given  by  a 
common  carrier  to  another  carrier  or  its  duly  authorized 
agent,  for  the  purpose  of  adjusting  mutual  traffic  ac- 
counts in  the  ordinary  course  of  business  of  such  carriers. 

Penalty.  Any  person,  corporation,  or  association  violating  any 

of  the  provisions  of  the  next  preceding  paragraph  of  this 
section  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  for 
each  offense, -on  conviction,  shall  pay  to  the  United  States 
a  penalty  of  not  more  than  one  thousand  dollars. 

Commission      jf  the  owner  of  property  transported  under  this  Act 

nay     deter  l       l         j  tr 

mi n e  reason  directly  or  indirectly  renders  any  service  connected  with 

able   maximum  J  J  J  —  t 

to  be  paid  for  such    transportation,    or   furnishes   any    instrumentality 

service       r  e  n-  . 

dered    or    in-  lised  therein,  the  charge  and  allowance  therefor  shall  be 

Btrumentality  .      . 

furnished  by  110  m0re  than  is  iust  and  reasonable,  and  the  Commission 

owner  of  prop  * 

erty  trans-n^  after  hearing  on  a  complaint  or  on  its  own  initi- 
ative, determine  what  is  a  reasonable  charge  as  the  maxi- 
mum to  be  paid  by  the  carrier  or  carriers  for  the  services 
so  rendered  or  for  the  use  of  the  instrumentality  so  fur- 
nished, and  fix  the  same  by  appropriate  order,  which 
order  shall  have  the  same  force  and  effect  and  be  enforced 
in  like  manner  as  the  orders  above  provided  for  under 
this  section, 
of B  powers °  in  The  foregoing  enumeration  of  powers  shall  not  exclude 
Sclnrive?"  °ot  any  power  which  the  Commission  would  otherwise  have 


ACT   TO   KEGTJLATE   COMMEECE.  33 

in  the  making  of  an  order  under  the  provisions  of  this 
Act. 

Sec.  16.  {Amended  March  2,  1889,  June  29,  1906,  and 
June  18,  1910.)  That  if,  after  hearing  on  a  complaint,,  Award  «f 

7  ~t  i  damages    by 

made  as  provided  in  section  thirteen  of  this  Act,  the  Com-  commission, 
mission  shall  determine  that  any  party  complainant  is  en- 
titled to  an  award  of  damages  under  the  provisions  of  this 
Act  for  a  violation  thereof,  the  Commission  shall  make  an 
order  directing  the  carrier  to  pay  to  the  complainant  the 
sum  to  which  he  is  entitled  on  or  before  a  day  named. 

If  a  carrier  does  not  comply  with  an  order  for  the  pay-     To  be  en- 
ment  of  money  within  the  time  limit  in  such  order,  the  courts, 
complainant,  or  any  person  for  whose  benefit  such  order 
was  made,  may  file  in  the  oircuit  court  of  the  United 
States  for  the  district  in  which  he  resides  or  in  which  is 
located  the  principal  operating  office  of  the  carrier,  or 
through  which  the  road  of  the  carrier  runs,  or  in  any  state 
court  of  general  jurisdiction  having  jurisdiction  of  the 
parties,  a  petition  setting  forth  briefly  the  causes  for 
which  he  claims  damages,  and  the  order  of  the  Commis- 
sion in  the    premises.     Such  suit  in  the  circuit  court  of    Findings   of 
the  United  States  shall  proceed  in  all  respects  like  other  mission'  pS 
civil  suits  for  damages,  except  that  on  the  trial  of  such  £CI%eparat?on 
suit  the  findings  and  order  of  the  Commission  shall  becases* 
prima  facie  evidence  of  the  facts  therein  stated,  and  ex- 
cept that  the  petitioner  shall  not  be  liable  for  costs  in  the 
circuit  court  nor  for  costs  at  any  subsequent  stage  of  the 
proceedings  unless  they  accrue  upon  his  appeal.     If  the     Petitioner's" 
petitioner  shall  finally  prevail  he  shall  be  allowed  a  rea- att0rney'8  fee8' 
sonable  attorney's  fee,  to  be  taxed  and  collected  as  a  part 
of  the  costs  of  the  suit.     All  complaints  for  the  recovery 
of  damages  shall  be  filed  with  the  Commission  within  two 
years  from  the  time  the  cause  of  action  accrues,  and  not 
after,  and  a  petition  for  the  enforcement  of  an  order  for     Limitation 
the  payment  of  money  shall  be  filed  in  the  circuit  court 
or  state  court  within  one  year  from  the  date. of  the  order, 
and  not  after. 

In  such  suits  all  parties  in  whose  favor  the  Commission ..  Joint   Plaln" 

.  _  *  tiffs    may    sue 

may  have  made  an  award  for  damages  by  a  single  order  J'01?*  .  defend- 

i        •    ■        i  i*i*  /v>  t  finis    id    courts 

may  be  joined  as  plaintiffs,  and  all  of  the  carriers  parties  °nmawards  of 
to  such  order  awarding  such  damages  may  be  joined  as 
defendants,  and  such  suit  may  be  maintained  by  such 
joint  plaintiffs  and  against  such  joint  defendants  in  any 
district  where  any  one  of  such  joint  plaintiffs  could  main- 

66170°— 14 3 


34  ACT   TO   REGULATE   COMMERCE. 

tain  such  suit  against  any  one  of  such  joint  defendants; 

process! lce  °f  and  ^^i06  °*  process  against  any  one  of  such  defendants 

as  may  not  be  found  in  the  district  where  the  suit  is 

brought  may  be  made  in  any  district  where  such  defendant 

carrier  has  its  principal  operating  office.     In  case  of  such 

joint  suit  the  recovery,  if  any,  may  be  by  judgment  in 

favor  of  any  one  of  such  plaintiffs,  against  the  defendant 

found  to  be  liable  to  such  plaintiff. 

orfe!-roflccomf     Every   order  of  the   Commission  shall  be  forthwith 

mission.  served  upon  the  designated  agent  of  the  carrier  in  the 

city  of  Washington  or  in  such  other  manner  as  may  be 

provided  by  law. 

may^usSnd     The   Commission  shall  be   authorized  to  suspend  or 

or^  modify  or-  modify  its  orders  upon  such  notice  and  in  such  manner 

as  it  shall  deem  proper, 
t  h°eai  rr  agents     It  slia11  be  the  dutv  of  every  common  carrier,  its  agents 
mi sTPcomeP?y  and  employees,  to  observe  and  comply  with  such  orders 
with  such  or-  so  long  as  the  same  shall  remain  in  effect. 

aers.  a 

b/UfnorS?e  y  carrier,  any  officer,  representative,  or  agent  of  a 

obe  reorder  of  cari"ier>  or  any  receiver,  trustee,  lessee,  or  agent  of  either 
commission  of  them,  who  knowinglv  fails  or  neglects  to  obev  anv 

under     section        ,  '  °  "  =>  J  J 

3  5.  order  made  under  the  provisions  of  section  fifteen  of  this 

Act  shall  forfeit  to  the  United  States  the  sum  of  five 
thousand  dollars  for  each  offense.  Every  distinct  viola- 
tion shall  be  a  separate  offense,  and  in  case  of  a  continu- 
ing violation  each  day  shall  be  deemed  a  separate  offense. 
payable* Vnto  Tlie  forfeiture  provided  for  in  this  Act  shall  be  payable 
Treasury    and  into  the  Treasurv  of  the  United  States,  and  shall  be  re- 

recoverable     in  ,,.."... 

civil  suit.  coverable  in  a  civil  suit  in  the  name  of  the  United  States, 
brought  in  the  district  where  the  carrier  has  its  principal 
operating  office,  or  in  any  district  through  which  the  road 
of  the  carrier  runs. 

tri?tutattorndeys     Jt  shaI1  be  the  duty  of  the  various  district  attorneys, 
to  prosecute.    un(jer   the   direction   of   the  Attorney    General   of   the ' 

United  States,  to  prosecute  for  the  recovery  of  forfei- 
expenfes  "be tures'  The  <?osts  and  exPenses  of  such  prosecution  shall 
proSria?io0n  for  ***  paid  out  of  the  appropriation  for  the  expenses  of  the 
court  expenses,  courts  of  the  United  States. 

maCy0em?ioyatn-     The  Commission  may  employ  such  attorneys  as  it  finds 
torneys.  necessary  for  proper  legal  aid  and  service  of  the  Commis- 

sion or  its  members  in  the  conduct  of  their  work  or  for 
proper  representation  of  the  public  interests  in  investi- 
gations made  by  it  or  cases  or  proceedings  pending  be- 
fore it,  whether  at  the  Commission's  own  instance  or  upon 


ACT   TO   EEGULATE   COMMERCE.  35 

complaint,  or  to  appear  for  and  represent  the  Commission 
in  any  case  pending  in  the  Commerce  Court ;  and  the  ex- 
penses of  such  employment  shall  be  paid  out  of  the  ap- 
propriation for  the  Commission. 

If  any  carrier  fails  or  neglects  to  obey  any  order  of  the  Cour°tmtmferce 
Commission  other  than  for  the  payment  of  money,  while  ^ce  ° *  d  "J 
the  same  is  in  effect,  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commis-  payment  of 

.  money. 

sion  or  any  party  injured  thereby,  or  the  United  States, 
by  its  Attorney  General,  may  apply  to  the  Commerce 
Court  for  the  enforcement  of  such  order.  If,  after  hear- 
ing, that  Court  determines  that  the  order  was  regularly 
made  and  duly  served,  and  that  the  carrier  is  in  disobedi- 
ence of  the  same,  the  Court  shall  enforce  obedience  to  such 
order  by  a  writ  of  injunction  or  other  proper  process, 
mandatory  or  otherwise,  to  restrain  such  carrier,  its  offi- 
cers, agents,  or  representatives,  from  further  disobedience 
of  such  order,  or  to  enjoin  upon  it  or  them  obedience  to 
the  same. 

The  copies  of  schedules  and  classifications  and  tariffs  schedules, 
of  rates,  fares,  and  charges,  and  of  all  contracts,  agree- annual  reports 
ments,  and  arrangements  between  common  carriers  filed  commission 

...     ,,        ~  .  .  .  -ii  t     i  .      are  public  rec- 

with  the  Commission  as  herein  provided,  and  the  statis-  ords,  receivable 
tics,  tables,  and  figures  contained  in  the  annual  or  other  evidence,    cer- 

.  «  •  ,       ,       ,,        n  ..  .,  titled  copies  or 

reports  01  carriers  made  to  the  Commission  as  required  extracts  there- 
under the  provisions  of  this  Act  shall  be  preserved  as  pub-  facie  evidence. 
lie  records  in  the  custody  of  the  secretary  of  the  Com- 
mission, and  shall  be  received  as  prima  facie  evidence 
of  what  they  purport  to  be  for  the  purpose  of  investiga- 
tions by  the  Commission  and  in  all  judicial  proceedings ; 
and  copies  of  and  extracts  from  any  of  said  schedules, 
classifications,  tariffs,  contracts,  agreements,  arrange- 
ments, or  reports,  made  public  records  as  aforesaid,  certi- 
fied by  the  secretary,  under  the  Commission's  seal,  shall 
be  received  in  evidence  with  like  effect  as  the  originals. 

Sec.  16a.   (Added  June  29,  1906.)     That  after  a  deci-     Commission 
sion,  order,  or  requirement  has  been  made  by  the  Com-  hearing*11*  re 
mission  in  any  proceeding  any  party  thereto  may  at  any 
time  make  application  for  rehearing  of  the  same,  or  any 
matter  determined  therein,  and  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the 
Commission  in  its  discretion  to  grant  such  a  rehearing  if 
sufficient  reason  therefor  be  made  to  appear.     Applica-     Application 
tions  for  rehearing  shall  be  governed  by  such  general  shall  not  opei* 
rules,  as  the  Commission  may  establish.     No  such  appli-  proceedings,™- 

.•in  •         i>  i    •  .,,  less  so  ordered 

cation  shall  excuse  any  carrier  from  complying  with  or  by  commission. 
obeying  any  decision,  order,  or  requirement  of  the  Com- 


36  ACT    TO   REGULATE   COMMERCE. 

mission,  or  operate  in  any  manner  to  stay  or  postpone 
the  enforcement  thereof,  without  the  special  order  of  the 
Commission.  In  case  a  rehearing  is  granted  the  pro- 
ceedings thereupon  shall  conform  as  nearly  as  may  be  to 
the  proceedings  in  an  original  hearing,  except  as  the  Com- 
mission may  otherwise  direct;  and  if,  in  its  judgment, 
after  such  rehearing  and  the  consideration  of  all  facts, 
including  those  arising  since  the  former  hearing,  it  shall 
appear  that  the  original  decision,  order,  or  requirement 
is  in  anj'-  respect  unjust  or  unwarranted,  the  Commission 
commission  may  reverse,  change,  or  modifv  the  same  accordingly. 

may,  on  rehear-  .  . 

ing,   reverse,  ^ny  decision,  order,  or  requirement  made  after  such  re- 
change,    or       j  #  7.        '  m  * 

modify  order,  hearing,  reversing,  changing,  or  modifying  the  original 
determination  shall  be  subject  to  the  same  provisions  as 
an  original  order. 
maCy0Ttermme  Sec-  lT-  (As  amended  March  0,  1889.)  That  the  Com- 
cedureVn  pr°"  missi°n  may  conduct  its  proceedings  in  such  manner  as 
will  best  conduce  to  the  proper  dispatch  of  business  and 
to  the  ends  of  justice.  A  majority  of  the  Commission 
shall  constitute  a  quorum  for  the  transaction  of  business, 
but  no  Commissioner  shall  participate  in  any  hearing  or 
proceeding  in  which  he  has  any  pecuniary  interest.  Said 
Commission  may.  from  time  to  time,  make  or  amend  such 
general  rules  or  orders  as  may  be  requisite  for  the  order 
and  regulation  of  proceedings  before  it,  including  forms 
of  notices  and  the  service  thereof,  which  shall  conform, 
as  nearly  as  may  be,  to  those  in  use  in  the  courts  of  the 

Parties  may  United  States.     Any  partv  may  appear  before  said  Corn- 
appear  m  per-      t  -  . 
son  or  by  at-  mission  and  be  heard,  in  person  or  bv  attorney.    Every 

torney.  .  .      . 

vote  and  official  act  of  the  Commission  shall  be  entered  of 
record,  and  its  proceedings  shall  be  public  upon  the  re- 
otficiai  seal,  quest  of  either  party  interested.  Said  Commission  shall 
have  an  official  seal,  which  shall  be  judicially  noticed. 
Either  of  the  members  of  the  Commission  may  administer 
oaths  and  affirmations  and  sign  subpoenas. 

Sec.  18.  (As  amended  March  2,  1889.)  [See  section 
24,  increasing  salaries  of  Commissioners.]  That  each 
Commissioner  shall  receive  an  annual  salary  of  seven 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  payable  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  the  judges  of  the  courts  of  the  United  States.  The 
Commission  shall  appoint  a  secretary,  who  shall  receive 
an  annual  salary  of  three  thousand  five  hundred  dollars,0 
payable  in   like  manner.     The   Commission   shall  have 

0  Increased  to  $5,000  by  sundry  civil  act  of  March  4,  1907,  34  Stat.  L., 
131L 


ACT  TO  REGULATE   COMMERCE.  37 

authority  to  employ  and  fix  the  compensation  of  such 
other  employees  as  it  may  find  necessary  to  the  proper 
performance  of  its  duties.  Until  otherwise  provided  by 
law,  the  Ccmmission  may  hire  suitable  offices  for  its  use, 
and  shall  have  authority  to  procure  all  necessary  office 
supplies.  Witnesses  summoned  before  the  Commission  witnesses' 
shall  be  paid  the  same  fees  and  mileage  that  are  paid 
witnesses  in  the  courts  of  the  United  States. 

All  of  the  expenses  of  the  Commission,  including  all 
necessary  expenses  for  transportation  incurred  by  the 
Commissioners,  or  by  their  employees  under  their  orders, 
in  making  any  investigation,  or  upon  official  business  in 
any  other  places  than  in  the  city  of  Washington,  shall  be 
allowed  and  paid  on  the  presentation  of  itemized  vouch- 
ers therefor  approved  by  the  chairman  of  the  Com- 
mission. 

Sec.  19.  That  the  principal  office  of  the  Commission  fiCg  ^^wash- 
shall  be  in  the  city  of  Washington,  where  its  general  ses-  ington. 
sions  shall  be  held:  but  whenever  the  convenience  of  the,,  sessions    of 

>  theCommis- 

public  or  the  parties  may  be  promoted,  or  delay  or  ex-sion- 
pense  prevented  thereby,  the  Commission  may  hold  spe- 
cial sessions  in  any  part  of  the  United  States.    It  may,  by  may0mr™slcu°te 
one  or  more  of  the  Commissioners,  prosecute  any  inquiry  0n!£uj.rnies  by, 
necessary  to  its  duties,  in  any  part  of  the  United  States,^3  m|™bofStnn 
into,  any  matter  or  question  of  fact  pertaining  to  the  busi-  United  states. 
ness  of  any  common  carrier  subject  to  the  provisions  of 
this  Act. 

Sec.  19a.  That  the  Commission  shall,  as  hereinafter ofAMl?JT°! 
provided,  investigate,  ascertain,  and  report  the  vakie  of  1913- 
all  the  property  owned  or  used  by  every  common  carrier 
subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  Act.    To  enable  the  Com-  bycommfsfiom 
mission  to  make  such  investigation  and  report,  it  is  au-     Experts. 
thorized  to  employ  such  experts  and  other  assistants  as 
may  be  necessary.    The  Commission  may  appoint  exam- 
iners who  shall  have  power  to  administer  oaths,  examine 
witnesses,  and  take  testimony.     The  Commission  shall    classification 

•  •  i      t     ii  t  /»  and   inventory. 

make  an  inventory  which  shall  list  the  property  or  every 
common  carrier  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  Act  in 
detail,  and  show  the  value  thereof  as  hereinafter  pro- 
vided, and  shall  classify  the  physical  property,  as  nearly 
as  practicable,  in  conformity  with  the  classification  of 
expenditures  for  road  and  equipment,  as  prescribed  by 
the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission. 

First.  In  such  investigation  said  Commission  shall  ei.tyOSUsedPrfor 
ascertain  and  report  in  detail  as  to  each  piece  of  property  £°m ™on^car- 
owned  or  used  by  said  common  carrier  for  its  purposes 


38  ACT    TO    REGULATE    COMMERCE. 

as  a  common  carrier,  the  original  cost  to  date,  the  cost 
of  reproduction  new,  the  cost  of  reproduction  less  depre- 
ciation, and  an  analysis  of  the  methods  by  which  these 
several  costs  are  obtained,  and  the  reason  for  their  differ- 
other  prop-ences,  if  any.    The  Commission  shall  in  like  manner  as- 

ertv. 

certain  and  report  separately  other  values,  and  elements 
of  value,  if  any,  of  the  property  of  such  common  carrierr 
and  an  analysis  of  the  methods  of  valuation  employed, 
and  of  the  reasons  for  any  differences  between  any  such 
value,  and  each  of  the  foregoing  cost  values. 

value  of  real  Second.  Such  investigation  and  report  shall  state  in 
detail  and  separately  from  improvements  the  original 
cost  of  all  lands,  rights  of  way,  and  terminals  owned  or 
used  for  the  purposes  of  a  common  carrier,  and  ascer 
tained  as  of  the  time  of  dedication  to  public  use,  and  the 
present  value  of  the  same,  and  separately  the  original 
and  present  cost  of  condemnation  and  damages  or  of  pur- 
chase in  excess  of  such  original  cost  or  present  value. 

Property  held     Third.  Such  investigation  and  report  shall  show  sepa- 

for  other  than  5=  -i  i  i  ■ 

common-car- rately  the  propertv  held  for  purposes  other  than  those  of 

rier  purposes.  ^  •  -,     •>  .    .      , 

a  common  carrier,  and  the  origmal  cost  and  present  value 
of  the  same,  together  with  an  analysis  of  the  methods  of 
valuation  employed. 
corporate  or-     Fourth.  In  ascertaining  the  original  cost  to  date  of 

ganization.  °  #0 

the  property  of  such  common  carrier  the  Commission,  in 
addition  to  such  other  elements  as  it  may  deem  necessary, 
shall  investigate  and  report  upon  the  history  and  organi- 
zation of  the  present  and  of  any  previous  corporation 
bonds°ks  a  D  d  operating  such  property ;  upon  any  increases  or  decreases 
of  stocks,  bonds,  or  other  securities,  in  any  reorganization ; 
upon  moneys  received  by  any  such  corporation  by  reason 
of  any  issues  of  stocks,  bonds,  or  other  securities;  upon 
the  syndicating,  banking,  and  other  financial  arrange- 
ments under  which  such  issues  were  made  and  the  ex- 
Earnings  and  pense  thereof:  and  upon  the  net  and  gross  earnings  of 

expenditures.      x  /   .  x  °#  ° 

such  corporations;  and  shall  also  ascertain  and  report  in 
such  detail  as  may  be  determined  by  the  Commission  upon 
the  expenditure  of  all  moneys  and  the  purposes  for  which 
the  same  were  expended, 
un^ted^tates™  Fifth.  The  Commission  shall  ascertain  and  report  the 
amount  and  value  of  any  aid,  gift,  grant  of  right  of  way, 
or  donation,  made  to  any  such  common  carrier,  or  to  any 
previous  corporation  operating  such  property,  by  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  or  by  any  State,  county, 
or  municipal  government,  or  by  individuals,  associations, 


ACT    TO    EEGULATE    COMMERCE.  39 

or  corporations :  and  it  shall  also  ascertain  and  report  the    value  of  land 

„  ,  .  grants. 

grants  of  land  to  any  such  common  carrier,  or  any  pre- 
vious corporation  operating  such  property,  by  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States,  or  by  any  State,  county, 
or  municipal  government,  and  the  amount  of  money  de- 
rived from  the  sale  of  any  portion  of  such  grants  and 
the.  value  of  the  unsold  portion  thereof  at  the  time  ac- 
qired  and  at  the  present  time,  also,  the  amount  and  value    concessions 

^  r  '  made    by    car- 

of  any  concession  and  allowance  made  by  such  common  "er. 
carrier  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  or  to  any 
State,  county,  or  municipal  government  in  consideration 
of  such  aid,  gift,  grant,  or  donation. 

Except  as  herein  otherwise  provided,  the  Commission  ^^^  of 
shall  have  power  to  prescribe-  the  method  of  procedure 
to  be  followed  in  the  conduct  of  the  investigation,  the 
form  in  which  the  results  of  the  valuation  shall  be  sub- 
mitted, and  the  classification  of  the  elements  that  consti- 
tute the  ascertained  value,  and  such  investigation  shall 
show  the  value  of  the  property  of  every  common  carrier 
as  a  whole  and  separately  the  value  of  its  property  in 
each  of  the  several  States  and  Territories  and  the  District 
of  Columbia,  classified  and  in  detail  as  herein  required. 

Such  investigation  shall  be  commenced  within  sixty  n^r£esecruttion. 
days  after  the  approval  of  this  Act  and  shall  be  prose-  investigation. 
cuted  with  diligence  and  thoroughness,  and  the  result 
thereof  reported  to  Congress  at  the  beginning  of  each 
regular  session  thereafter  until  completed. 

Every  common  carrier  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  aiDocu]mr|nti?  ^° 
Act  shall  furnish  to  the  Commission  or  its  agents  fromtion- 
time  to  time  and  as  the  Commission  may  require  maps, 
profiles,  contracts,  reports  of  engineers,  and  any  other 
documents,  records,  and.  papers,  or  copies  of  any  or  all 
of  the  same,  in  aid  of  such  investigation  and  determina- 
tion of  the  value  of  the  property  of  said  common  carrier, 
and  shall  grant  to  all  agents  of  the  Commission  free    Access  of 

.  .  .  agents  to  prop- 

access  to  its  right  of  way,  its  property,  and  its  accounts,  erty. 
records,  and  memoranda  whenever  and  wherever  re- 
quested by  any  such  duly  authorized  agent,  and  every 
common  carrier  is  hereby  directed  and  required  to  coop- 
erate with  and  aid  the  Commission  in  the  work  of  the 
valuation  of  its  property  in  such  further  particulars  and 
to  such  extent  as  the  Commission  may  require  and  direct,  rul^gf  f  e  c  *  of 
and  all  rules  and  regulations  made  by  the  Commission  for 
the  purpose  of  administering  the  provisions  of  this  section 
and  section  twenty  of  this  Act  shall  have  the  full  force 
and  effect  of  law.    Unless  otherwise  ordered  by  the  Com- 


40  ACT    TO    REGULATE    COMMERCE. 

tion  of  Records  mission,  with  the  reasons  therefor,  the  records  and  data  of 
the  Commission  shall  be  open  to  the  inspection  and  exami- 
nation of  the  public. 
valuation  of     Upon  the  completion  of  the  valuation  herein  provided 

extensions  and  *-  m    *  * 

improvements,  for  the  Commission  shall  thereafter  in  like  manner  keep 
itself  informed  of  all  extensions  and  improvements  or 
other  changes  in  the  condition  and  value  of  the  property 
of  all  common  carriers,  and  shall  ascertain  the  value 
thereof,  and  shall  from  time  to  time,  revise  and  correct 
its  valuations,  showing  such  revision  and  correction  classi- 
fied and  as  a  whole  and  separately  in  each  of  the  several 
States   and   Territories   and  the   District  of   Columbia, 

Reports  to  which  valuations,  both  original  and  corrected,  shall  be 
tentative  valuations  and  shall  be  reported  to  Congress  at 
the  beginning  of  each  regular  session. 

information      To  enable  the  Commission  to  make  such  changes  and 

required  of  car-  ...  .  „  - 

riers.  corrections  in  its  valuations  of  each  class  of  property, 

every  common  carrier  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this 

Act  shall  make  such  reports  and  furnish  such  information 

as  the  Commission  may  require. 

Notice    of     "Whenever  the  Commission  shall  have  completed  the 

completion     of  r 

tentative  vaiu-  tentative  valuation  of  the  property  of  any  common  car- 
rier, as  herein  directed,  and  before  such  valuation  shall 
become  final,  the  Commission  shall  give  notice  by  regis- 
tered letter  to  the  said  carrier,  the  Attorney  General  of 
the  United  States,  the  governor  of  any  State  in  which  the 
property  so  valued  is  located,  and  to  such  additional  par- 
ties as  the  Commission  may  prescribe,  stating  the  valua- 
tion placed  upon  the  several  classes  of  property  of  said 
carrier,  and  shall  allow  thirty  days  in  which  to  file  a 
Finality  if  no  protest  of  the  same  with  the  Commission.     If  no  protest 

protest  filed.  . 

is  filed  within  thirty  days,  said^  valuation  shall  become 
final  as  of  the  date  thereof. 
Hearings   of     if  notice  of  protest  is  filed  the  Commission  shall  fix  a 

protests.  _  * 

time  for  hearing  the  same,  and  shall  proceed  as  promptly 
as  may  be  to  hear  and  consider  any  matter  relative  and 
material  thereto  which  may  be  presented  in  support  of 
changes.       any  such  protest  so  filed  as  aforesaid.     If  after  hearing 
any  protest  of  such  tentative  valuation  under  the  provi- 
sions of  this  Act  the  Commission  shall  be  of  the  opinion 
that  its  valuation  should  not  become  final,  it  shall  make 
such  changes  as  may  be  necessary,  and  shall  issue  an  order 
making  such  corrected  tentative  valuation  final  as  of  the 
Effect  of  final  date  thereof.    All  final  valuations  by  the  Commission  and 
classification1!  the  classification  thereof  shall  be  published  and  shall  be 


ACT    TO    REGULATE    COMMERCE.  41 

prima  facie  evidence  of  the  value  of  the  property  in  all 
proceedings  under  the  Act  «to  regulate  commerce  as  of 
the  date  of  the  fixing  thereof,  and  in  all  judicial  proceed- 
ings for  the  enforcement  of  the  Act  approved  February 
fourth,  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty-seven,  commonly 
known  as  "  the  Act  to  regulate  commerce,"  and  the  various 
Acts  amendatory  thereof,  and  in  all  judicial  proceedings 
brought  to  enjoin,  set  aside,  annul,  or  suspend,  in  whole 
or  in  part,  any  order  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mission. 

If  upon  the  trial  of  any  action  involving  a  final  value  denfeCt  °f  evl' 
fixed  by  the  Commission,  evidence  shall  be  introduced 
regarding  such  value  which  is  found  by  the  court  to  be 
different  from  that  offered  upon  the  hearing  before  the 
Commission,    or    additional    thereto    and    substantially 
affecting  said  value,  the  court,  before  proceeding  to  render  toT™^s™iss8Bii0°» 
judgment  shall  transmit  a  copy  of  such  evidence  to  the 
Commission,  and  shall  stay  further  proceedings  in  said 
action  for  such  time  as  the  court  shall  determine  from 
the  date  of  such  transmission.    Upon  the  receipt  of  suchCo£^s°ion.*f 
evidence  the  Commission  shall   consider  the  same  and 
may  fix  a  final  value  different  from  the  one  fixed  in  the 
first  instance,  and  may  alter,  modify,  amend  or  rescind 
any  order  which  it  has  made  involving  said  final  value, 
and  shall  report  its  action  thereon  to  said  court  within 
the  time  fixed  by  the  court.    If  the  Commission  shall  alter,  of  ^^cation 
modify,  or  amend  its  order,  such  altered,  modified,  or 
amended  order  shall  take  the  place  of  the  original  order 
complained  of  and  judgment  shall  be  rendered  thereon 
as  though  made  by  the  Commission  in  the  first  instance. 
If  the  original  order  shall  not  be  rescinded  or  changed  orgff^e°n 
by  the  Commission,  judgment  shall  be  rendered  upon  such 
original  order. 

The  provisions  of  this  section  shall  apply  to  receivers  re£?P|j£able  t0 
of  carriers  and  operating  trustees.  In  case  of  failure  or 
refusal  on  the  part  of  any  carrier,  receiver,  or  trustee  to 
comply  with  all  the  requirements  of  this  section  and  in 
the  manner  prescribed  by  the  Commission  such  carrier, 
receiver,  or  trustee  shall  forfeit  to  the  United  States  the  Penalty.  . 
sum  of  five  hundred  dollars  for  each  such  offense  and  for 
each  and  every  day  of  the  continuance  of  such  offense, 
such  forfeitures  to  be  recoverable  in  the  same  manner  as 
other  forfeitures  provided  for  in  section  sixteen  of  the 
Act  to  regulate  commerce. 


"to" 


That  the  district  courts  of  the  United  States  shall  have  of  ^Jfjfrlct 
jurisdiction,  upon  the  application  of  the  Attorney  General  ££" compliance' 
of  the  United  States  at  the  request  of  the  Commission, 


42  ACT  TO   REGULATE   COMMERCE. 

alleging  a  failure  to  comply  with  or  a  violation  of  any 
of  the  provisions  of  this  section  by  any  common  carrier, 
to  issue  a  writ  or  writs  of  mandamus  commanding  such 
common  carrier  to  comply  Avith  the  provisions  of.  this 
section, 
tai  ^cT'of1  au-  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  every  common  carrier  by  rail- 
gust  1,  1914.  roa(j  vvhose  property  is  being  valued  under  the  Act  of 
March  first,  nineteen  hundred  and  thirteen,  to  transport 
the  engineers,  field  parties,  and  other  employees  of  the 
United  States  who  are  actually  engaged  in  making  sur- 
veys and  other  examination  of  the  plvysical  property  of 
said  carrier  necessary  to  execute  said  Act  from  point  to 
point  on  said  railroad  as  may  be  reasonably  required  by 
them  in  the  actual  discharge  of  their  duties;  and,  also, 
to  move  from  point  to  point  and  store  at  such  points  as 
may  be  reasonably  required  the  cars  of  the  United  States 
which  are  being  used  to  house  and  maintain  said  em- 
ployees; and,  also,  to  carry  the  supplies  necessary  to 
maintain  said  employees  and  the  other  property  of  the 
United  States  actually  used  on  said  railroad  in  said  work 
of  valuation.  The  service  above  required  shall  be  re- 
garded as  a  special  service  and  shall  be  rendered  under 
such  forms  and  regulations  and  for  such  reasonable  com- 
pensation as  may  be  prescribed  by  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Commission  and  as  will  insure  an  accurate  record 
and  account  of  the  service  rendered  by  the  railroad,  and 
such  evidence  of  transportation,  bills  of  lading,  and  so 
forth,  shall  be  furnished  to  the  Commission  as  may  from 
time  to  time  be  required  by  the  Commission, 
m  Jy^q  Sire  Sec-  20-  (As  amended  June  29, 1906,  February  25, 1909, 
andUPalr escribe* and  June  18i  1910-)  Tnat  tne  Commission  is  hereby  au- 
in|ths°adm°ef  mak"  thorized  to  require  annual  reports  from  all  common  car- 
riers subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  Act,  and  from  the 
owners  of  all  railroads  engaged  in  interstate  commerce  as 
defined  in  this  Act,  to  prescribe  the  manner  in  which 
such  reports  shall  be  made,  and  to  require  from  such  car- 
riers specific  answers  to  all  questions  upon  which  the 
of  carriers  snan  Commission  may  need  information.  Such  annual  reports 
contain.  shall  show  in  detail  the  amount  of  capital  stock  issued, 

the  amounts  paid  therefor,  and  the  manner  of  payment 
for  the  same;  the  dividends  paid,  the  surplus  fund,  if 
any,  and  the  number  of  stockholders;  the  funded  and 
floating  debts  and  the  interest  paid  thereon ;  the  cost  and 
value  of  the  carrier's  property,  franchises,  and  equip- 
ments; the  number  of  employees  and  the  salaries  paid 
each  class ;  the  amounts  expended  for  improvements  each 
year,  how  expended,  and  the  character  of  such  improve- 


ACT  TO   REGULATE   COMMERCE.  43 

merits;  the  earnings  and  receipts  from  each  branch  of 

business  and  from  all  sources;  the  operating  and  other 

expenses ;  the  balances  of  profit  and  loss ;  and  a  complete 

exhibit  of  the  financial  operations  of  the  carrier  each 

year,  including  an  annual  balance  sheet.     Such  reports  m  fy  Ascribe 

shall  also  contain  such  information  in  relation  to  rates  or  ofniaccouSntSstem 

regulations  concerning  fares  or  freights,  or  agreements, 

arrangements,   or   contracts   affecting  the   same   as  the 

Commission  may  require;  and  the  Commission  may,  in 

its  discretion,  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  it  the  better  to 

carry  out  the  purposes  of  this  Act,  prescribe  a  period  of 

time  within  which  all  common  carriers  subject  to  the 

provisions  of  this  Act  shall  have,  as  near  as  may  be,  a 

uniform  system  of  accounts,  and  the  manner  in  which 

such  accounts  shall  be  kept.  . 

Said  detailed  reports  shall  contain  all  the  required     Annual     re- 
statistics  for  the  period  of  twelve  months  ending  on  the  with  commis- 
thirtieth  day  of  June  in  each  year,  or  on  the  thirty-first  tember   30   of 
day  of  December  in  each  year  if  the  Commission  by  order  eac     yeai' 
substitute  that  period  for  the  year  ending  June  thirtieth, 
and  shall  be  made  out  under  oath  and  filed  with  the  Com- 
mission at  its  office  in  Washington  within  three  months 
after  the  close  of  the  year  for  which  the  report  is  made, 
unless   additional   time   be   granted  in  any  case  by  the     Commission 

„  .  p  .  J  .        may    grant  ad- 

Commission;  and  11  any  carrier,  person,  or  corporation  ditionai  time, 
subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  Act  shall  fail  to  make  and 
file  said  annual  reports  within  the  time  above  specified, 
or  within  the  time  extended  by  the  Commission,  for  mak- 
ing and  filing  the  same,  or  shall  fail  to  make  specific 
answer  to  any  question  authorized  by  the  provisions  of 
this  section  within  thirty  daj^s  from  the  time  it  is  lawfully 
required  so  to  do,  such  party  shall  forfeit  to  the  United 
States  the  sum  of  one  hundred  dollars  for  each  and  every  Penalty, 
day  it  shall  continue  to  be  in  default  with  respect  thereto. 
The  Commission  shall  also  have  authority  by  general  or     Monthly    or 

.  .  .  p  periodical     re- 

special  orders  to  require  said  carriers,  or  any  of  them,  to  ports, 
file  monthly  reports  of  earnings  and  expenses,  and  to  file 
periodical  or  special,  or  both  periodical  and  special,  re- 
ports concerning  any  matters  about  which  the  Commis- 
sion is  authorized  or  required  by  this  or  any  other  law  to 
inquire  or  to  keep  itself  informed  or  which  it  is  required 
to  enforce;  and  such  periodical  or  special  reports  shall 
be  under  oath  whenever  the  Commission  so  requires ;  and 
if  any  such  carrier  shall  fail  to  make  and  file  any  such 
periodical  or  special  report  within  the  time  fixed  by  the 
Commission,  it  shall  be  subject  to  the  forfeitures  last 
above  provided. 


44  ACT   TO   EEGULATE    COMMERCE. 

forfeitures^   °f      Said  forfeitures  shall  be  recovered  in  the  manner  pro 
vided  for  the  recovery  of  forfeitures  under  the  provisions 
of  this  Act. 
niPaV1  reports!     The  oat^  squired  by  this  section  may  be  taken  before 
how  taken.       any  person  authorized  to  administer  an  oath  by  the  laws 

of  the  State  in  which  the  same  is  taken. 
may0  prescribe      The  Commission  may,  in  its  discretion,  prescribe  the 
counts,  records,  forms  of  any  and  all  accounts,  records,  and  memoranda  to 
raDda.andeha^e^e  kept  by  carriers  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  Act, 
access  thereto,  including  the  accounts,  records,  and  memoranda  of  the 
movement  of  traffic  as  well  as  the  receipts  and  expendi- 
tures of  moneys.    The  Commission  shall  at  all  times  have 
access  to  all  accounts,  records,  and  memoranda  kept  by 
carrier  to  carriers  subject  to  this  Act,  and  it  shall  be  unlawful  for 

keep    no  other         ,  .  .  ' 

accounts   than  such  carriers  to  keep  any  other  accounts,  records,  or  mem- 

J-    fi     n    5    A  T")     I*    P- 

scribed  by  Com- oranda  than  those  prescribed  or  approved  by  the  Com- 
mission. •  -<  •,  i  •  ■■  , 

mission,  and  it  may  employ  special  agents  or  examiners, 

Commission  who  shall  have  authority  under  the  order  of  the  Commis- 

speciai    exam-  sion  to  inspect  and  examine  any  and  all  accounts,  records, 

spect  accounts  and  memoranda  kept  by  such  carriers.     This  provision 

shall  apply  to  receivers  of  carriers  and  operating  trustees. 

Punishment     In  case  of  failure  or  refusal  on  the  part  of  any  such 

of    carrier    by  r  " 

forfeiture  for  carrier,  receiver,  or  trustee  to  keep  such  accounts,  records, 

failure  to  keep         ,  n  ,       ,        .         ■*■  . 

accounts  tor  and  memoranda  on  the  books  and  in  the  manner  pre- 
scribed by  com- scribed  by  the  Commission,  or  to  submit  such  accounts, 

mission    or    to  n  ••  ->  ,  ,       .-,       .  ,.  « 

allow  inspec-  records,  and  memoranda  as  are  kept  to  the  inspection  of 
ereo  .  ^e  Commission  or  any  of  its  authorized  agents  or  exam- 
iners, such  carrier,  receiver,  or  trustee  shall  forfeit  to  the 
United  States  the  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars  for  each 
such  offense  and  for  each  and  every  day  of  the  continu- 
ance of  such  offense,  such  forfeitures  to  be  recoverable  in 
the  same  manner  as  other  forfeitures  provided  for  in 
this  Act. 
Punishment     Any  person  who  shall  willfully  make  any  false  entry  in 

of    person    for    ,  »  tip  •  % 

false  entry  in  the  accounts  oi  any  book  of  accounts  or  in  any  record  or 

accounts  or  rec-  i      i  i  •  n        -n* 

ords,  or  muti- memoranda  kept  by  a  carrier,  or  who  shall  willfully  de- 
counts  or  rec-  stroy,  mutilate,  alter,  or  by  any  other  means  or  device 
keeping    other  falsify  the  record  of  any  such  account,  record,  or  memo- 
thTse8  pre1  randa,  or  who  shall  willfully  neglect  or  fail  to  make  full, 
or" imprison^  true,  and  correct  entries  in  such  accounts,  records,  or 
ment  or  both,  memoranda  0f  all  facts  and  transactions  appertaining  to 
the  carrier's  business,  or  shall  keep  any  other  accounts, 
records,  or  memoranda  than  those  prescribed  or  approved 
by  the  Commission,  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misde- 
meanor, and  shall  be  subject,  upon  conviction  in  any  court 
of  the  United  States  of  competent  jurisdiction,  to  a  fine 
of  not  less  than  one  thousand  dollars  nor  more  than  five 
thousand  dollars  or  imprisonment  for  a  term  not  less  than 


ACT  TO   EEGULATE   COMMEKCE.  45 

one  year  nor  more  than  three  years,  or  both  such  fine  and 
imprisonment :  Provided,  That  the  Commission  may  in  its  of  ^reu°^|^ 
discretion  issue  orders  specifying  such  operating,  account-  19£90-mmissi(m 
ins:,  or  financial  papers,  records,  books,  blanks,  tickets,  may  permit  de- 

te'  r    r  ■-,.-,  ,11,  struction    of 

stubs,  or  documents  of  carriers  which  may,  after  a  reason-  records. 
able  time,  be  destroyed,  and  prescribing  the  length  of  time 
such  books,  papers,  or  documents  shall  be  preserved. 

Any  examiner  who  divulges  any  fact  or  information  of  pSpecfa\meex<: 
which  may  come  to  his  knowledge  during  the  course  of  ^gSMJrma- 
such  examination,  except  in  so  far  as  he  may  be  directed  JftorTty.^Se 
by  the  Commission  or  by  a  court  or  judge  thereof,  shall  mentor  bothn" 
be  subject,  upon  conviction  in  any  court  of  the  United 
States  of  competent  jurisdiction,  to  a  fine  of  not  more 
than  fike  thousand  dollars  or  imprisonment  for  a  term 
not  exceeding  two  years,  or  both. 

That  the  circuit  and  district  courts  of  the  United  States  c0^ntstem!yatiesS 
shall  have  jurisdiction,  upon  the  application  of  the  Attor-  ?2ecoTp°iacon\s 
ney  General  of  the  United  States  at  the  request  of  the  Pjlai}£f  * !  of 
Commission,  alleging  a  failure  to  comply  with  or  a  viola-  Act. 
tion  of  any  of  the  provisions  of  said  Act  to  regulate  com- 
merce or  of  any  Act  supplementary  thereto  or  amendatory 
thereof  by  any  common  carrier,  to  issue  a  writ  or  writs  of 
mandamus  commanding  such  common  carrier  to  comply 
with  the  provisions  of  said  Acts,  or  any  of  them. 

And  to  carry  out  and  give  effect  to  the  provisions  of  may°fm pToy 
said  Acts,  or  any  of  them,  the  Commission  is  hereby  au-  ^f1  toXar™- 
thorized  to  employ  special  agents  or  examiners  who  shall ceive  evidence. 
have  power  to  administer  oaths,  examine  witnesses,  and 
receive  evidence. 

That  any  common  carrier,  railroad,  or  transportation  rl^al2JwB  "for 
company  receiving  property  for  transportation  from  a  loss  o^damage 
point  in  one  State  to  a  point  in  another  State  shall  issue  a  shipments. 
receipt  or  bill  of  lading  therefor  and  shall  be  liable  to  the 
lawful  holder  thereof  for  any  loss,  damage,  or  injury  to 
such  property  caused  by  it  or  by  any  common  carrier, 
railroad,  or  transportation  company  to  which  such  prop- 
erty may  be  delivered  or  over  whose  line  or  lines  such 
property  may  pass,  and  no  contract,  receipt,  rule,  or  regu- 
lation shall  exempt  such  common  carrier,  railroad,  or 
transportation  company  from  the  liability  hereby  im- 
posed: Provided,  That  nothing  in  this  section  shall  de-  ae^eTf^ting 
prive  any  holder  of  such  receipt  or  bill  of  lading  of  any  law  not  barred, 
remedy  or  right  of  action  which  he  has  under  existing  law. 

That  the  common  carrier,  railroad,  or  transportation  mIanyitinIavi|rrrer 
company  issuing. such  receipt  or  bill  of  lading  shall  be  course  upo^n 
entitled  to  recover  from  the  common  carrier,  railroad,  or  sibie   for   loss 

7  ,  or   damage. 

transportation  company  on  whose  line  the  loss,  damage, 
or  injury  shall  have  been  sustained  the  amount  of  such 


46  ACT  TO   EEGULATE    COMMERCE. 

loss,  damage,  or  injury  as  it  may  be  required  to  pay  to 
the  owners  of  such  property,  as  may  be  evidenced  by  any 
receipt,  judgment,  or  transcript  thereof, 
of  January1 20!      ^°  su^  brought  in  any  State  court  of  competent  juris- 
1914.  diction  against  a  railroad  company,  or  other  corporation, 

or  person,  engaged  in  and  carrying  on  the  business  of  a 
common  carrier,  to  recover  damages  for  delay,  loss  of, 
or  injury  to  property  received  for  transportation  by  such 
common  carrier  under  section  twenty  of  the  Act  to  regu- 
late commerce,  approved  February  fourth,  eighteen  hun- 
dred and  eighty-seven,  as  amended  June  twenty-ninth, 
nineteen  hundred  and  six,  April  thirteenth,  nineteen  hun- 
dred and  eight,  February  twenty-fifth,  nineteen  hundred 
and  nine,  and  June  eighteenth,  nineteen  hundred  and 
ten,  shall  be  removed  to  any  court  of  the  United  States 
where  the  matter  in  controversj^  does  not  exceed,  exclu- 
sive of  interest  and  costs,  the  sum  or  value  of  $3,000. 
p£t™otl  the  Sec.  21.  (.4s  amended  March  2,  1889.)  That  the  Com- 
coifjress!011  t0  mission  shall,  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  December  in 
each  year,  make  a  report,  which  shall  be  transmitted  to 
Congress,  and  copies  of  which  shall  be  distributed  as  are 
the  other  reports  transmitted  to  Congress.  This  report 
shall  contain  such  information  and  data  collected  by  the 
Commission  as  may  be  considered  of  value  in  the  determi- 
nation of  questions  connected  with  the  regulation  of  com- 
merce, together  with  such  recommendations  as  to  addi- 
tional legislation  relating  thereto  as  the  Commission  may 
deem  necessary ;  and  the  names  and  compensation  of  the 
persons  employed  by  said  Commission. 

roeert°ns  that     ^EC*  22'  (^s  amended  March  2,  1889,  and  February  8, 
may  be  carried  1895.)    [See  section  1,  5th  par.~]  That  nothing  in  this  Act 
duced  rates,      shall  prevent  the  carriage,  storage,  or  handling  of  prop- 
erty free  or  at  reduced  rates  for  the  United  States,  State, 
or  municipal  governments,  or  for  charitable  purposes,  or 
to  or  from  fairs  and  expositions  for  exhibition  thereat, 
or  the  free  carriage  of  destitute  and  homeless  persons 
transported  by  charitable  societies,  and  the    necessary 
Mileage,  ex-  agents  employed  in  such  transportation,  or  the  issuance 

cursion.or  com-     ~       •<■  .  .  . 

mutation  pas- of  mileage,  excursion,  or  commutation  passenger  tickets; 
'  nothing  in  this  Act  shall  be  construed  to  prohibit  any 
common  carrier  from  giving  reduced  rates  to  ministers 
of  religion,  or  to  municipal  governments  for  the  trans- 
portation of  indigent  persons,  or  to  inmates  of  the  Na- 
tional Homes  or  State  Homes  for  Disabled  Volunteer 
Soldiers,  and  of  Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Orphan  Homes,  in- 
cluding those  about  to  enter  and  those  returning  home 
after  discharge,  under  arrangements  with  the  boards  of 


ACT  TO   KEGULATE   COMMERCE.  47 

managers  of  said  homes ;  nothing  in  this  Act  shall  be  con-  trSFtSLmgai 
strued  to  prevent  railroads  from  giving  free  carriage  to  g*f n„S  °J^_ 
their  own  officers  and  employees,  or  to  prevent  the  princi-  Payees  of  ^ 
pal  officers  of  any  railroad  company  or  companies  from  mes. 
exchanging  passes  or  tickets  with    other  railroad  com- 
panies for  their  officers  and  employees ;  and  nothing  in A^ntaB£ 
this  Act  contained  shall  in  any  way  abridge  or  alter  the  JjJjyStgSS 
remedies  now  existing  at  common  law  or  by  statute,  but  l?™%™  u\f™; 
the  provisions  of  this  Act  are  in  addition  to  such  reme-  gon^  not  ^af- 
dies :  Provided,  That  no  pending  litigation  shall  in  any 
way  be  affected  by  this  Act :  Provided  further,  That  noth-  c  ^^g  ^Me 
ing  in  this  Act  shall  prevent  the  issuance  of  joint  inter-  jj[fe-  *|?2?g?ti 
changeable  five-thousand-mile  tickets,  with  special  privi- ^°ug  of  f ree 
leges  as  to  the  amount  of  free  baggage  that  may  be  carried 
under  mileage  tickets  of  one  thousand  or  more  miles. 
But  before  any  common  carrier,  subject  to  the  provisions 
of  this  Act,  shall  issue  any  such  joint  interchangeable 
mileage  tickets  with  special  privileges,  as  aforesaid,  it 
shall  file  with  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  copies 
of  the  joint  tariffs  of  rates,  fares,  or  charges  on  which 
such  joint  interchangeable  mileage  tickets  are  to  be  based, 
together  with  specifications  of  the  amount  of  free  bag- 
gage permitted  to  be  carried  under  such  tickets,  in  the 
same  manner  as  common  carriers  are  required  to  do  with 
regard  to  other  joint  rates  by  section  six  of  this  Act;  and 
all  the  provisions  of  said  section  six  relating  to  joint  rates,    gf^tgjj^ 
fares,  and  charges  shall  be  observed  by  said  common  car-  and  observed. 
riers  and  enforced  by  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commis- 
sion as  fully  with  regard  to  such  joint  interchangeable 
mileage  tickets  as  with  regard  to  other  joint  rates,  fares, 
and  charges  referred  to  in  said  section  six.    It  shall  be 
unlawful  for  any  common  carrier  that  has  issued  or  au- 
thorized to  be  issued  any  such  joint  interchangeable  mile- 
age tickets  to  demand,  collect,  or  receive  from  any  person 
or  persons  a  greater  or  less  compensation  for  transporta- 
tion of  persons  or  baggage  under  such  joint  interchange- 
able mileage  tickets  than  that  required  by  the  rate,  fare, 
or  charge  specified  in  the  copies  of  the  joint  tariff  of 
rates,  fares,  or  charges  filed  with  the  Commission  in  force 
at  the  time.     The  provisions  of  section  ten  of  this  Act     Penalties, 
shall  apply  to  any  violation  of  the  requirements  of  this 
proviso. 

Sec.  23.  (Added  M arch  2,  1889.)  That  the  circuit  and  CoSJsioStcomS 
district  courts  of  the  United  States  shall  have  jurisdiction  "enf  o?  ?nfcfr- 
upon  the  relation  of  any  person  or  persons,  firm,  or  corpo-  thetefurn^hing 
ration,  alleging  such  violation  by  a  common  carrier,  of  otfner  transport 
any  of  the  provisions  of  the  Act  to  which  this  is  a  supple-  tfes!on   fa°Ul 


48  ACT    TO    REGULATE    COMMERCE. 

ment  and  all  Acts  amendatory  thereof,  as  prevents  the 
relator  from  having  interstate  traffic  moved  by  said  com- 
mon carrier  at  the  same  rates  as  are  charged,  or  upon 
terms  or  conditions  as  favorable  as  those  given  by  said 
common  carrier  for  like  traffic  under  similar  conditions  to 
any  other  shipper,  to  issue  a  writ  or  writs  of  mandamus 
against  said  common  carrier,  commanding  such  common 
carrier  to  move  and  transport  the  traffic,  or  to  furnish  cars 
or  other  facilities  for  transportation  for  the  party  apply- 
ing for  the  writ :  Provided,  That  if  any  question  of  fact 
as  to  the  proper  compensation  to  the  common  carrier  for 
the  service  to  be  enforced  by  the  writ  is  raised  by  the 
pleadings,  the  writ  of  peremptoiy  mandamus  may  issue, 
notwithstanding  such  question  of  fact  is  undetermined, 
upon  such  terms  as  to  security,  payment  of  money  into  the 
court,  or  otherwise,  as  the  court  may  think  proper,  pend- 
Remedy  is ing  the  determination  of  the  question  of  fact:  Provided. 

cumulative.  °  *  ' 

That  the  remedy  hereby  given  by  writ  of  mandamus  shall 
be  cumulative,  and  shall  not  be  held  to  exclude  or  inter- 
fere with  other  remedies  provided  by  this  Act  or  the  Act 
to  which  it  is  a  supplement. 
toC?£i"sf  i0of     Sec-  24<   {Added  June  29,  1906.)  That  the  Interstate 
be/se-ntermsn:C'ommerce  Commission  is  hereby  enlarged  so  as  to  consist 
salaries.  0f  seven  members  with  terms  of  seven  years,  and  each 

shall  receive  ten  thousand  dollars  compensation  annually. 
o?commissk>nS  The  qualifications  of  the  Commissioners  and  the  manner 
ers-  of  the  payment  of  their  salaries  shall  be  as  already  pro- 

vided by  law.  Such  enlargement  of  the  Commission  shall 
be  accomplished  through  appointment  by  the  President, 
by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  of  two 
additional  Interstate  Commerce  Commissioners,  one  for  a 
term  expiring  December  thirty-first,  nineteen  hundred  and 
eleven,  one  for  a  term  expiring  December  thirty-first,  nine- 
teen hundred  and  twelve.  The  terms  of  the  present  Com- 
missioners, or  of  any  successor  appointed  to  fill  a  vacancy 
caused  by  the  death  or  resignation  of  any  of  the  present 
Commissioners,  shall  expire  as  heretofore  provided  by 
law.  Their  successors  and  the  successors  of  the  additional 
Commissioners  herein  provided  for  shall  be  appointed  for 
the  full  terms  of  seven  years,  except  that  any  person  ap- 
pointed to  fill  a  vacancy  shall  be  appointed  only  for  the 
unexpired  term  of  the  Commissioner  whom  he  shall  suc- 
ceed. Not  more  than  four  Commissioners  shall  be  ap- 
pointed from  the  same  political  party. 


causes 
in   com ' 


ACT    TO    REGULATE    COMMERCE.  49 

(Additional  provisions  in  Act  of  June  29, 1906.)    (Sec.  J^^j^bmA- 
9.)  That  all  existing  laws  relating  to  the  attendance  of  ance   of,  wit 

°     _  p         •  i  ti  nesses  and  pro- 

witnesses  and  the  production  of  evidence  and  the  com-  auction  of  evi- 

...„.,..  ,  deuce    applica- 

pelling  or  testimony  under  the  Act  to  regulate  commerce  bie  in  proceed- 
and  all  Acts  amendatory  thereof  shall  apply  to  any  and  Act. 
all  proceedings  and  hearings  under  this  Act. 

(Sec.  10.)  That  all  laws  and  parts  of  laws  in  conflict  la^^aiedf 
with  the  provisions  of  this  Act  are  hereby  repealed ;  but 
the  amendments  herein  provided  for  shall  not  affect  causes  no1^to Effect 
now  pending  in  courts  of  the  United  States,  but  such  Pf^JJft 
causes  shall  be  prosecuted  to  a  conclusion  in  the  manner 
heretofore  provided  by  law. 

(Sec.  11.)  That  this  Act  shall  take  effect  and  be  in  force  fe£l£?  Act  ef" 
from  and  after  its  passage. 

Joint  resolution  of  June  30,  1906,  provides:  "That  the  ^^"f  *g: 
Act  entitled  'An  Act  to  amend  an  Act  entitled  "An  Act  to  te,Sded  ™$*J* 

(A  u  g  u  s  t  J8, 

regulate  Commerce,'   approved  February  4,  1887,  and  all  1906). 
Acts  amendatory  thereof,  and  to  enlarge  the  powers  of 
the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission,'  shall  take  effect 
and  be  in  force  sixty  days  after  its  approval  by  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States." 

(Additional  provisions  in  Act  of  June  18, 1910.)    (Sec.  dCa™}*[™"* 
6,  par.  2.)    It  shall  be  the  duty  of  every  common  carrier  a  g  e  n  t  s     in 
subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  Act,  within  sixty  days  for  purposes 
after  the  taking  effect  of  this  Act,  to  designate  in  writing  ° 
an  agent  in  the  city  of  Washington,  District  of  Columbia, 
upon  whom  service  of  all  notices  and  processes  may  be 
made  for  and  on  behalf  of  said  common  carrier  in  any 
proceeding  or  suit  pending  before  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Commission  or  before  said  Commerce  Court,  and  to 
file  such  designation  in  the  office  of  the  secretary  of  the 
Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  which  designation  may 
from  time  to  time  be  changed  by  like  writing  similarly 
filed:  and  thereupon  service  of  all  notices  and  processes     service  on 

»  *  •         i        i  •  sucu   agents. 

may  be  made  upon  such  common  carrier  by  leaving  a 
copy  thereof  with  such  designated  agent  at  his  office  or 
usual  place  of  residence  in  the  city  of  Washington,  with 
like  effect  as  if  made  personally  upon  such  common  car- 
rier, and  in  default  of  such  designation  of  such  agent, 
service  of  any  notice  or  other  process  in  any  proceeding 
before  said  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  or  Com- 
merce Court  may  be  made  Jby  posting  such  notice  or 
process  in  the  office  of  the  secretary  of  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Commission. 

(Sec.  15.)     That  nothing  in  this  Act  contained  shall     Pending 
undo  or  impair  any  proceedings  heretofore  taken  by  or 
before  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  or  any  of  the 
acts  of  said  Commission:  and  in  any  cases,  proceedings, 

66170°— 14 4 


cases. 


50  DISTRICT  COUET  JURISDICTION   ACT. 

or  matters  now  pending  before  it,  the  Commission  may 
exercise  any  of  the  powers  hereby  conferred  upon  it,  as 
would  be  proper  in  cases,  proceedings,  or  matters  here- 
after initiated  and  nothing  in  this  Act  contained  shall 
bi fisting  iia-  operate  to  release  or  affect  any  obligation,  liability,  pen- 
alty, or  forfeiture  heretofore  existing  against  or  incurred 
by  any  person,  corporation,  or  association. 
fec«TC° AuS     (  Sec.  18. )  That  this  Act  shall  take  effect  and  be  in  force 
17,  1910).       fr0m  and  after  the  expiration  of  sixty  days  after  its 
passage,  except  as  to  sections  twelve  and  sixteen,  which 
sections  shall  take  effect  and  be  in  force  immediately. 

Public,  No.  41,  approved  February  4,  1887,  as  amended 
by  Public,  No.  125,  approved  March  2,  1889;  Public, 
No.  72,  approved  February  10,  1891 ;  Public,  No.  38,  ap- 
proved February  8, 1895 ;  Public,  No.  337,  approved  June 
29,  1906;  Public  Res.,  No.  47,  approved  June  30,  1906; 
Public,  No.  95,  approved  April  13,  1908;  Public,  No.  262, 
approved  February  25,  1909;  Public,  No.  218,  approved 
June  18, 1910 ;  Public,  No.  337,  approved  August  24, 1912 ; 
Public,  No.  400,  approved  March  1,  1913;  Public,  No.  48, 
approved  January  20,  -1914;  and  Public,  No.  161,  ap- 
proved August  1,  1914. 

DISTRICT  COURT  JURISDICTION  ACT. 

AN  ACT  Making  appropriations  to  supply  urgent  deficiencies  in 
appropriations  for  the  fiscal  year  nineteen  hundred  and  thirteen, 
and  for  other  purposes. 

*  *  *  *  * 

The  Commerce  Court,  created  and  established  by  the  Act 
entitled  "An  Act  to  create  a  Commerce  Court  and  to  amend 
the  Act  entitled  'An  Act  to  regulate  commerce,'  approved 
February  fourth,  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty-seven,  as 
heretofore  amended,  and  for  other  purposes,"  approved 
Commerce  June  eighteenth,  nineteen  hundred  and  ten,  is  abolished 

ished.  from  and  after  December  thirty-first,  nineteen  hundred 

and  thirteen,  and  the  jurisdiction  vested  in  said  Commerce 
Court  by  said  Act  is  transferred  to  and  vested  in  the  sev- 
eral district  courts  of  the  United  States,  and  all  Acts  or 
parts  of  Acts  in  so  far  as  they  relate  to  the  establishment 
of  the  Commerce  Court  are  repealed.  Nothing  herein  con- 
tained shall  be  deemed  to  affect  the  tenure  of  any  of  the 
judges  now  acting  as  circuit  judges  by  appointment 
under  the  terms  of  said  Act,  but  such  judges  shall  continue 
to  act  under  assignment,  as  in  the  said  Act  provided,  as 

in  Jd  i Ift  ri'c  t  Judges  °f  ^ie  district  courts  and  circuit  courts  of  appeals ; 

courts.  an(j  m  the  event  of  and  on  the  death,  resignation,  or  re- 

Tenure  of  of-  moval  from  office  of  any  of  such  judges,  his  office  is  hereby 
abolished  and  no  successor  to  him  shall  be  appointed. 


DISTRICT   COURT  JURISDICTION   ACT.  51 

The  venue  of  any  suit  hereafter  brought  to  enforce,  sui\seonUorde°rf 
suspend,  or  set  aside,  in  whole  or  in  part,  any  order  of  commerceScome 
the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  shall  be  in  the  judi-  mission. 
cial  district  wherein  is  the  residence  of  the  party  or  any 
of  the  parties  upon  whose  petition  the  order  was  made, 
except  that  where  the  order  does  not  relate  to  transporta- 
tion or  is  not  made  upon  the  petition  of  any  party  the 
venue  shall  be  in  the  district  where  the  matter  complained 
of  in  the  petition  before  the  Commission  arises,  and  ex- 
cept that  where  the  order  does  not  relate  either  to  trans- 
portation or  to  a  matter  so  complained  of  before  the  Com- 
mission the  matter  covered  by  the  order  shall  be  deemed 
to  arise  in  the  district  where  one  of  the  petitioners  in 
court  has  either  its  principal  office  or  its  principal  operat-     Principal  of- 
ing  office.    In  case  such  transportation  relates  to  a  through 
shipment  the  term  "  destination  "  shall  be  construed  as 
meaning  final  destination  of  such  shipment. 

The  procedure  in  the  district  courts  in  respect  to  cases    Procedure  in 

,  x  *  district  courts. 

of  which  jurisdiction  is  conferred  upon  them  by  this  Act- 
shall  be  the  same  as  that  heretofore  prevailing  in  the 
Commerce  Court.  The  orders,  writs,  and  processes  of 
the  district  courts  may  in  these  cases  run,  be  served, 
and  be  returnable  anywhere  in  the  United  States;  and 
the  right  of  appeal  from  the  district  courts  in  such  cases 
shall  be  the  same  as  the  right  of  appeal  heretofore  pre- 
vailing under  existing  law  from  the  Commerce  Court. 
No  interlocutory  injunction  suspending  or  restraining,  interlocutory 
the  enforcement,  operation,  or  execution  of,  or  setting 
aside,  in  whole  or  in  part,  any  order  made  or  entered  by 
the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  shall  be  issued  or 
granted  by  any  district  court  of  the  United  States,  or 
by  any  judge  thereof,  or  by  any  circuit  judge  acting  as 
district  judge,  unless  the  application  for  the  same  shall 
be  presented  to  a  circuit  or  district  judge,  and  shall  be 
heard  and  determined  by  three  judges,  of  whom  at  least 
one  shall  be  a  circuit  judge,  and  unless  a  majority  of  said 
three  judges  shall  concur  in  granting  such  application. 
When  such  application  as  aforesaid  is  presented  to  a 
judge,  he  shall  immediately  call  to  his  assistance  to  hear 
and  determine  the  application  two  other  judges.  Said 
application  shall  not  be  heard  or  determined  before  at 
least  five  days'  notice  of  the  hearing  has  been  given  to  Notice. 
the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  to  the  Attorney 
General  of  the  United  States,  and  to  such  other  persons 


52  DISTRICT   COUET   JURISDICTION   ACT. 

as  may  be  defendants  in  the  suit :  Provided,  That  in  cases 
where  irreparable  damage  would  otherwise  ensue  to  the 
petitioner,  a  majority  of  said  three  judges  concurring, 
may,  on  hearing,  after  not  less  than  three  days'  notice  to 
the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  and  the  Attorney 
Temporary  General,  allow  a  temporary  stay  or  suspension,  in  whole 
or  in  part,  of  the  operation  of  the  order  of  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Commission  for  not  more  than  sixty  days  from 
the  date  of  the  order  of  said  judges  pending  the  applica- 
tion for  the  order  or  injunction,  in  which  case  the  said 
order  shall  contain  a  specific  finding,  based  upon  evidence 
submitted  to  the  judges  making  the  order  and  identified 

damareparable'3y  reference  thereto,  that  such  irreparable  damage  would 
result  to  the  petitioner  and  specifying  the  nature  of  the 
damage.  The  said  judges  may,  at  the  time  of  hearing 
such  application,  upon  a  like  finding,  continue  the  tem- 
porary stay  or  suspension  in  whole  or  in  part  until 
Hearing.  decision  upon  the  application.  The  hearing  upon  such 
application  for  an  interlocutory  injunction  shall  be  given 
precedence  and  shall  be  in  every  way  expedited  and  be 
assigned  for  a  hearing  at  the  earliest  practicable  day  after 
the  expiration  of  the  notice  hereinbefore  provided  for. 
Appeal.  ^n  appeai  mav  be  taken  direct  to  the  Supreme  Court  of 

the  United  States  from  the  order  granting  or  denying, 
after  notice  and  hearing,  an  interlocutory  injunction,  in 
such  case  if  such  appeal  be  taken  within  thirty  days  after 
the  order,  in  respect  to  which  complaint  is  made,  is 
granted  or  refused;  and  upon  the  final  hearing  of  any 
suit  brought  to  suspend  or  set  aside,  in  whole  or  in  part, 
any  order  of  said  Commission  the  same  requirement  as  to 
judges  and  the  same  procedure  as  to  expedition  and  ap- 

mentnal  judg'  Pea^  sna^  aPPlj-  -A-  final  judgment  or  decree  of  the  dis- 
trict court  may  be  reviewed  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  if  appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court  be  taken 
by  an  aggrieved  party  within  sixty  days  after  the  entry 
of  such  final  judgment  or  decree,  and  such  appeals  may 
be  taken  in  like  manner  as  appeals  are  taken  under  exist- 
ing law  in  equity  cases.  And  in  such  case  the  notice  re- 
quired shall  be  served  upon  the  defendants  in  the  case 

^  cases  pend-  and  upon  the  attorney  general  of  the  State.  All  cases 
pending  in  the  Commerce  Court  at  the  date  of  the  passage 
of  this  Act  shall  be  deemed  pending  in  and  be  trans- 
ferred forthwith  to  said  district  courts  except  cases  which 
may  previously  have  been  submitted  to  that  court  for 


DISTRICT  COURT  JURISDICTION   ACT.  53 

final  decree  and  th'e  latter  to  be  transferred  to  the  district 
courts  if  not  decided  by  the  Commerce  Court  before 
December  first,  nineteen  hundred  and  thirteen,  and  all 
cases  wherein  injunctions  or  other  orders  or  decrees, 
mandatory  or  otherwise,  have  been  directed  or  entered 
prior  to  the  abolition  of  the  said  court  shall  be  transferred 
forthwith  to  said  district  courts,  which  shall  have  jurisdic- 
tion to  proceed  therewith  and  to  enforce  said  injunctions, 
orders,  or  decrees.  Each  of  said  cases  and  all  the  records,  t0TaTsSter Tcft 
papers,  and  proceedings  shall  be  transferred  to  the  district  courts. 
court  wherein  it  might  have  been  filed  at  the  time  it  was 
filed  in  the  Commerce  Court  if  this  Act  had  then  been  in 
effect;  and  if  it  might  have  been  filed  in  any  one  of  two 
or  more  district  courts  it  shall  be  transferred  to  that  one 
of  said*  district  courts  which  may  be  designated  by  the 
petitioner  or  petitioners  in  said  case,  or,  upon  failure  of 
said  petitioners  to  act  in  the  premises  within  thirty  days 
after  the  passage  of  this  Act,  to  such  one  of  said  district 
courts  as  may  be  designated  by  the  judges  of  the  Com- 
merce Court.  The  judges  of  the  Commerce  Court  shall 
have  authority,  and  are  hereby  directed,  to  make  any  and 
all  orders  and  to  take  any  other  action  necessary  to  trans- 
fer as  aforesaid  the  cases  and  all  the  records,  papers,  and 
proceedings  then  pending  in  the  Commerce  Court  to  said 
district  courts.  All  administrative  books,  dockets,  files, 
and  all  papers  of  the  Commerce  Court  not  transferred  as 
part  of  the  record  of  any  particular  case  shall  be  lodged 
in  the  Department  of  Justice.  All  furniture,  carpets, 
and  other  property  of  the  Commerce  Court  is  turned  over 
to  the  Department  of  Justice  and  the  Attorney  General 
is  authorized  to  supply  such  portion  thereof  as  in  his 
judgment  may  be  proper  and  necessary  to  the  United 
States  Board  of  Mediation  and  Conciliation. 

Any  case  hereafter  remanded  from  the  Supreme  Court  court  Pto 
which,  but  for  the  passage  of  this  Act,  would  have  been  mand- 
remanded  to  the  Commerce  Court,  shall  be  remanded  to 
a  district  court,  designated  by  the  Supreme  Court, 
wherein  it  might  have  been  instituted  at  the  time  it  was 
instituted  in  the  Commerce  Court  if  this  Act  had  then 
been  in  effect,  and  thereafter  such  district  court  shall  take 
all  necessary  and  proper  proceedings  in  such  case  in  ac- 
cordance with  law  and  such  mandate,  order,  or  decree 
therein  as  may  be  made  by  said  Supreme  Court. 


Supreme 
re- 


54  COMPULSORY   TESTIMONY  ACT. 

Repeal.  AW  laws  or  parts  of  laws  inconsistent  with  the  forego- 

ing   provisions    relating    to   the    Commerce    Court,    are 
repealed. 

*  *  *  *  * 

Public,  No.  32.  approved  October  22,  1913. 


COMPULSORY  TESTIMONY  ACT. 

AN  ACT  In  relation  to  testimony  before  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Commission,  and  in  cases  or  proceedings  under  or  con- 
nected with  an  Act  entitled  "An  Act  to  regulate  commerce." 
approved  February  fourth,  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty-seven, 
and  amendments  thereto. 

Be  it  enacted  by  tlie  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  as- 
be  excused  sembled,  That  no  person  shall  be  excused  from  attending 
by  fear  of  in-  and  testifying  or  from  producing  books,  papers,  tariffs, 
contracts,  agreements  and  documents  before  the  Inter- 
state Commerce  Commission,  or  in  obedience  to  the  sub- 
poena of  the  Commission,  whether  such  subpoena  be 
signed  or  issued  by  one  or  more  Commissioners,  or  in 
any  cause  or  proceeding,  criminal  or  otherwise,  based 
upon  or  growing  out  of  any  alleged  violation  of  the  Act 
of  Congress,  entitled  "An  Act  to  regulate  commerce," 
approved  February  fourth,  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty- 
seven,  or  of  amy  amendment  thereof  on  the  ground  or  for 
the  reason  that  the  testimony  or  evidence,  documentary  or 
otherwise,  required  of  him,  may  tend  to  criminate  him  or 
immunity.  SUDject  him  to  a  penalty  or  forfeiture.  But  no  person 
shall  be  prosecuted  or  subjected  to  any  penalty  or  for- 
feiture for  or  on  account  of  any  transaction,  matter  or 
thing,  concerning  which  he  may  testify,  or  produce  evi- 
dence, documentary  or  otherwise,  before  said  Commis- 
sion, or  in  obedience  to  its  subpoena,  or  the  subpoena  of 
either  of  them,  or  in  any  such  case  or  proceeding:  Pro- 
bePpunlshednay  vided.  That  no  person  so  testifying  shall  be  exempt  from 
prosecution  and  punishment  for  perjury  committed  in  so 
testifying, 
pfn  "^"iml  Any  person  who  shall  neglect  or  refuse  to  attend  and 
both0nmeIlt'  or  testify,  or  to  answer  any  lawful  inquiry,  or  to  produce 
books,  papers,  tariffs,  contracts,  agreements  and  docu- 
ments, if  in  his  power  to  do  so,  in  obedience  to  the  sub- 
poena or  lawful  requirement  of  the  Commission  shall  be 
guilty  of  an  offense  and  upon  conviction  thereof  by  a 


IMMUNITY   OF   WITNESSES  ACT.  55 

court  of  competent  jurisdiction  shall  be  punished  by  fine 
not  less  than  one  hundred  dollars  nor  more  than  five 
thousand  dollars,  or  by  imprisonment  for  not  more  than 
one  year  or  by  both  such  fine  and  imprisonment. 
Public,  No.  54,  approved  February  11,  1893, 


IMMUNITY  OF  WITNESSES  ACT. 

AN  ACT  Defining  the  right  of  immunity  of  witnesses  under  the 
Act  entitled  "An  Act  in  relation  to  testimony  before  the  Inter- 
state Commerce  Commission,"  and  so  forth,  approved  February 
eleventh,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-three,  and  an  Act  entitled 
"An  Act  to  establish  the  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor," 
approved  February  fourteenth,  nineteen  hundred  and  three,  and 
an  Act  entitled  "An  Act  to  further  regulate  commerce  with  for- 
eign nations  and  among  the  States,"  approved  February  nine- 
teenth, nineteen  hundred  and  three,  and  an  Act  entitled  "An  Act 
making  appropriations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial 
expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  thir- 
tieth, nineteen  hundred  and  four,  and  for  other  purposes,"  ap- 
proved February  twenty-fifth,  nineteen  hundred  and  three. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assem- 
bled, That  under  the  immunity  provisions  in  the  Act 
entitled  "An  Act  in  relation  to  testimony  before  the  In- 
terstate Commerce  Commission,"  and  so  forth,  approved 
February  eleventh,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-thijee, 
in  section  six  of  the  Act  entitled  "An  Act  to  establish  the 
Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor,"  approved  Febru- 
ary fourteenth,  nineteen  hundred  and  three,  and  in  the 
Act  entitled  "An  Act  to  further  regulate  commerce  with 
foreign  nations  and  among  the  States,"  approved  Febru- 
ary nineteenth,  nineteen  hundred  and  three,  and  in  the 
Act  entitled  "An  Act  making  appropriations  for  the  legis- 
lative, executive,  and  judicial  expenses  of  the  Govern- 
ment for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  thirtieth,  nineteen 
hundred  and  four,  and  for  other  purposes,"  approved 
Februarv  twenty-fifth,  nineteen  hundred  and  three,  im-    immunity  ex- 

•i.     i_  ii    _l    j      i    x  i  i      •   tends  onlv  to 

munity  shall  extend  only  to  a  natural  person  who,  m  natural  persons 

,      ,.  ,  .  .  ,  ,.  who  give  testi- 

obedience  to  a  subpoena,  gives  testimony  under  oath  ormony   under 
produces  evidence,  documentary  or  otherwise,  under  oath,  under  oath. 
Public,  No.  389,  approved  June  30, 1906. 


5fi  ELKINS  ACT. 

ELKINS  ACT. 

AN  ACT  To  further  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations  and 
among  the  States. 


Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assem- 
aBCweTCatoflE  Wed,  Sec.  1.   (As  amended  June  29,  1906.)     That  any 
name01    asent  thing  done  or  omitted  to  be  done  by  a  corporation  com- 
mon carrier,  subject  to  the  Act  to  regulate  commerce  and 
the  Acts  amendatory  thereof,  which,  if  done  or  omitted 
to  be  done  by  any  director  or  officer  thereof,  or  any  re- 
ceiver, trustee,  lessee,  agent,  or  person  acting  for  or  em- 
ployed by  such  corporation,  would  constitute  a  misde- 
meanor under  said  Acts  or  under  this  Act,  shall  also  be 
held  to  be  a  misdemeanor  committed  by  such  corporation, 
Penalty.        an(j  T1p0n  conviction  thereof  it  shall  be  subject  to  like  pen- 
alties as  are  prescribed  in  said  Acts  or  by  this  Act  with 
reference  to  such  persons,  except  as  such  penalties  are 
Failure  of  herein  changed.     The  willful  failure  upon  the  part  of  any 

carrier  to  pub-  ...  .  _,  .  J; 

lish    rates    or  carrier  subiect  to  said  Acts  to  file  and  publish  the  tariffs 

observe    tariffs  .  '■ 

a  misdemeanor,  or  rates  and  charges  as  required  by  said  Acts,  or  strictly 

to  observe  such  tariffs  until  changed  according  to  law, 

shall  be  a  misdemeanor,  and  upon  conviction  thereof  the 

Penalty,  fine,  corporation  offending  shall  be  subject  to  a  fine  of  not  less 

than  one  thousand  dollars  nor  more  than  twenty  thousand 

Misdemeanor  dollars  for  each  offense :  and  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any 

to  offer,  grant,  .  ,     •* 

give,  solicit,  ac-  person,  persons,  or  corporation  to  offer,  grant,  or  give, 

cept,  or  receive r  -, .    .  .  :&>'_&> 

any  rebate,  con- or  to  solicit,  accept,  or  receive  anv  rebate,  concession,  or 

cession   or  dis-   ......  •  . 

crimination,  discrimination  in  respect  to  the  transportation  of  any 
•  property  in  interstate  or  foreign  commerce  by  any  com- 
mon carrier  subject  to  said  Act  to  regulate  commerce  and 
the  Acts  amendatory  thereof  whereby  any  such  property 
shall  by  any  device  whatever  be  transported  at  a  less  rate 
than  that  named  in  the  tariffs  published  and  filed  by  such 
carrier,  as  is  required  by  said  Act  to  regulate  commerce 
and  the  Acts  amendatory  thereof,  or  whereby  any  other 
advantage  is  given  or  discrimination  is  practiced.  Every 
person  or  corporation,  whether  carrier  or  shipper,  who 
shall,  knowingly,  offer,  grant,  or  give,  or  solicit,  accept, 
or  receive  any  such  rebates,  concession,  or  discrimination 
shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  on  con- 
Penaity,  fine  viction  thereof  shall  be  punished  bv  a  fine  of  not  less 

or        imprison-    . 

ment,  or  both,  than  one  thousand  dollars  nor  more  than  twenty  thousand 
dollars:  Provided,  That  any  person,  or  any  officer  or  di- 


ELKINS  ACT.  57 

rector  of  aity  corporation  subject  to  the  provisions  of 
this  Act,  or  the  Act  to  regulate  commerce  and  the  Acts 
amendatory  thereof,  or  any  receiver,  trustee,  lessee,  agent, 
or  person  acting  for  or  employed  by  any  such  corpora- 
tion, who  shall  be  convicted  as  aforesaid,  shall,  in  ad- 
dition to  the  fine  herein  provided  for,  be  liable  to  im- 
prisonment in  the  penitentiary  for  a  term  of  not  exceed- 
ing two  years,  or  both  such  fine  and  imprisonment,  in  the 
discretion  of  the  court.     Every  violation  of  this  section     Prosecutions 

J  may  be  in  any 

shall  be  prosecuted  in  any  court  of  the  United  States  d,  *  s  * r  l.  J  * 

*  m  ,  J  through    which 

having  -jurisdiction  of  crimes  within  the  district  in  which  transportation 

e  J  _  passes. 

such  violation  was  committed,  or  through  which  the 
transportation  may  have  been  conducted;  and  whenever 
the  offense  is  begun  in  one  jurisdiction  and  completed  in 
another  it  may  be  dealt  with,  inquired  of,  tried,  de- 
termined, and  punished  in  either  jurisdiction  in  the  same 
manner  as  if  the  offense  had  been  actually  and  wholly 
committed  therein. 

In  construing  and  enforcing  the  provisions  of  thislir'\inc'Palsa':e 
section,  the  act,  omission,  or  failure  of  any  officer,  agent, of  agents, 
or  other  person  acting  for  or  employed  by  any  common 
carrier,  or  shipper,  acting  within  the  scope  of  his  em- 
ployment, shall  in  every  case  be  also  deemed  to  be  the 
act,  omission,  or  failure  of  such  carrier  or  shipper  as  well 
as  that  of  the  person.     Whenever  any  carrier  files  with     Rates  filed  or 

r  •*  participated  in 

the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  or  publishes  a  par-  *>y  carrier  shall, 

x  L         as  against  such 

ticular  rate  under  the  provisions  of  the  Act  to  regulate  c  a  r  ri  e  r ,  be 

x  °  deemed  legal. 

commerce  or  Acts  amendatory  thereof,  or  participates  in 
any  rates  so  filed  or  published,  that  rate  as  against  such 
carrier,  its  officers  or  agents,  in  any  prosecution  begun 
under  this  Act  shall  be  conclusively  deemed  to  be  the 
legal  rate,  and  any  departure  from  such  rate,  or  any  offer 
to  depart  therefrom,  shall  be  deemed  to  be  an  offense 
under  this  section  of  this  Act. 

Any  person,  corporation,  or  company  who  shall  deliver 
property  for  interstate  transportation  to  any  common 
carrier,  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  Act,  or  for  whom 
as  consignor  or  consignee,  any  such  carrier  shall  trans- 
port property  from  one  State,  Territory,  or  the  District 
of  Columbia  to  any  other  State,  Territory,  or  the  District 
of  Columbia,  or  foreign  country,  who  shall  knowingly  by 
employee,  agent,  officer,  or  otherwise,  directly  or  indi- 
rectly, by  or  through  any  means  or  device  whatsoever, 
receive  or  accept  from  such  common  carrier  any  sum  of 


58  ELKINS  ACT. 

money  or  any  other  valuable  consideration  as  a  rebate  or 

offset  against  the  regular  charges  for  transportation  of 

such  property,  as  fixed  by  the  schedules  of  rates  provided 

Forfeiture  for  in  this  Act,  shall  in  addition  to  any  penalty  pro- 
may    be    en-  ,  m  J     r  J    x 

forced  against  vided  by  this  Act  forfeit  to  the  United  States  a  sum  of 

receivers  of   re-  ^ 

batea  money  three  times  the  amount  of  money  so  received  or 

accepted  and  three  times  the  value  of  any  other  consid- 
eration so  received  or  accepted,  to  be  ascertained  by  the 
trial  court;  and  the  Attorney  General  of  the  United 
States  is  authorized  and  directed,  whenever  he  has  rea- 
sonable grounds  to  believe  that  any  such  person,  corpo- 
ration, or  company  has  knowingly  received  or  accepted 
from  any  such  common  carrier  any  sum  of  money  or 
other  valuable  consideration  as  a  rebate  or  offset  as  afore- 
said, to  institute  in  any  court  of  the  United  States  of 
competent  jurisdiction  a  civil  action  to  collect  the  said 
sum  or  sums  so  forfeited  as  aforesaid ;  and  in  the  trial  of 
said  action  all  such  rebates  or  other  considerations  so  re- 
ceived or  accepted  for  a  period  of  six  years  prior  to  the 
commencement  of  the  action,  may  be  included  therein,  and 
the  amount  recovered  shall  be  three  times  the  total 
amount  of  money,  or  three  times  the  total  value  of  such 
consideration,  so  received  or  accepted,  or  both,  as  the 
case  may  be. 
es^edS°fn  ^mat-  Sec.  -•  That  in  any  proceeding  for  the  enforcement  of 
in  caSsesnbefore  *ne  provisions  of  the  statutes  relating  to  interstate  com- 
cnotmmSercemerce'  whether  such  proceedings  be  instituted  before  the 
drcuTt^c'ou  r°t  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  or  be  begun  originally 

may   be   made  in  anv  circuit  court  of  the  United  States,  it  shall  be  law- 
parties    and  J 

feet' tobeorders  ^  *°  include  as  parties,  in  addition  to  the  carrier,  all 
or  decrees.  persons  interested  in  or  affected  by  the  rate,  regulation, 
or  practice  under  consideration,  and  inquiries,  investiga- 
tions, orders,  and  decrees  may  be  made  with  reference  to 
and  against  such  additional  parties  in  the  same  manner, 
to  the  same  extent,  and  subject  to  the  same  provisions  as 
are  or  shall  be  authorized  by  law  with  respect  to  carriers. 

Court  may     Sec.  3.  That  whenever  the  Interstate  Commerce  Corn- 
restrain  depar-      .     . 
tures  from  pub- mission  shall  have  reasonable  ground  for  belief  that  anv 

lished  rates  or  .  .     °  J 

any  discrimi-  common  carrier  is  engaged  in  the  carriage  of  passengrers 

nation    prohib-  ,     .  „  .  ■  .  •,, 

ited  by  law.  or  freight  traffic  between  given  points  at  less  than  the 
published  rates  on  file,  or  is  committing  any  discrimina- 
tions forbidden  by  law,  a  petition  may  be  presented  alleg- 
ing such  facts  to  the  circuit  court  of  the  United  States 
sitting  in  equity  having  jurisdiction;  and  when  the  act 


ELK1NS  ACT.  59 

complained  of  is  alleged  to  have  been  committed  or  as 
being  committed  in  part  in  more  than  one  judicial  district 
or  State,  it  may  be  dealt  with,  inquired  of,  tried,  and 
determined  in  either  such  judicial  district  or  State, 
whereupon  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  court  summarily 
to  inquire  into  the  circumstances,  upon  such  notice  and 
in  such  manner  as  the  court  shall  direct  and  without  the 
formal  pleadings  and  proceedings  applicable  to  ordinary 
suits  in  equity,  and  to  make  such  other  persons  or  corpo- 
rations parties  thereto  as  the  court  may  deem  necessary, 
and  upon  being  satisfied  of  the  truth  of  the  allegations 
of  said  petition  said  court  shall  enforce  an  observance  of 
the  published  tariffs  or  direct  and  require  a  discontin- 
uance of  such  discrimination  bjr  proper  orders,  writs,  and 
process,  which  said  orders,  writs,  and  process  may  be 
enforceable  as  well  against  the  parties  interested  in  the 
traffic  as  against  the  carrier,  subject  to  the  right  of  appeal 
as  now  provided  by  law.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
several  district  attorneys  of  the  United  States,  whenever 
the  Attorney  General  shall  direct,  either  of  his  own  mo- 
tion or  upon  the  request  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mission, to  institute  and  prosecute  such  proceedings,  and 
the  proceedings  provided  for  by  this  Act  shall  not  pre- 
clude the  bringing  of  suit  for  the  recovery  of  damages  by 
any  party  injured,  or  any  other  action  provided  by  said 
Act  approved  February  fourth,  eighteen  hundred  and 
eighty-seven,  entitled  "An  Act  to  regulate  commerce" 
and  the  Acts  amendatory  thereof.      An  in  proceedings    Court  may 

^  t  •  i  compel   attend- 

Under  this  Act  and  the  Acts  to  regulate  commerce  the  said  ance  and  testi- 

,  ,  mony    of    wit- 

courts  shall  have  the  power  to  compel  the  attendance  of  nesses  and  pro- 

i  pi  •  ii  .       duction     of 

witnesses,  both  upon  the  part  or  the  carrier  and  the  ship-  fcooks  and  pa- 
per, who  shall  be  required  to  answer  on  all  subjects  relat- 
ing directly  or  indirectly  to  the  matter  in  controversy,  and 
to  compel  the  production  of  all  books  and  papers,  both  of 
the  carrier  and  the  shipper,  which  relate  directly  or  indi- 
rectly to  such  transaction ;  the  claim  that  such  testimony  immunity. 
or  evidence  may  tend  to  criminate  the  person  giving  such 
evidence  shall  not  excuse  such  person  from  testifying  or 
such  corporation  producing  its  books  and  papers,  but  no 
person  shall  be  prosecuted  or  subjected  to  any  penalty  or 
forfeiture  for  or  on  account  of  any  transaction,  matter,  or 
thing  concerning  which  he  may  testify  or  produce  evi- 


60  EXPEDITING  ACT. 

\cf  o^Fet^iT  ^ence  documentary  or  otherwise  in  such  proceeding:  Pro- 
to°ekseB  p£fif-  «*<&*i  Tnat  tlle  provisions  of  an  Act  entitled  ''An  Act  to 
^ted  under  di-  expedite  the  hearing  and  determination  of  suits  in  equity 
torney  General  pending  or  hereafter  brought   under   the  Act  of   July 

in  name  ot  In-  r        *     fa  &  v      j 

terstate    Com-  second,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety,  entitled  'An  Act  to 

meree  Commis-  °  J  7 

8ion-  protect  trade  and  commerce  against  unlawful  restraints 

and  monopolies,'  'An  Act  to  regulate  commerce,'  approved 
February  fourth,  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty-seven,  or 
any  other  acts  having  a  like  purpose  that  may  be  hereafter 
enacted,  approved  February  eleventh,  nineteen  hundred 
and  three,'"  shall  apply  to  any  case  prosecuted  under  the 
direction  of  the  Attorney  General  in  the  name  of  the 
Interstate  Commerce  Commission, 
conflicting     Sec.  1.  That  all  Acts  and  parts  of  Acts  in  conflict  with 

law*    repealed.  ..  .     ,  .       .  .  .  i     -.     i  i 

the  provisions  or  W\\<  Act  are  hereby  repealed,  but  such 
repeal  shall  not  affect  causes  now  pending  nor  rights 
which  have  already  accrued,  but  such  causes  shall  be  pros- 
ecuted to  a  conclusion  and  such  rights  enforced  in  a  man- 
ner heretofore  provided  by  law  and  as  modified  by  the 
provisions  of  this  Act. 

Sec.  5.  That  this  Act  shall  take  effect  from  its  passage. 

Public,  No.  103,  approved  February  19,  1903. 

(See  additional  provisions  in  act  of  June  29, 1906,  p.  Jf.6, 
herein. ) 


EXPEDITING  ACT. 

AX  ACT  To  expedite  the  hearing  and  determination  of  suits  in 
equity  pending  or  hereafter  brought  under  the  act  of  July  sec- 
ond, eighteen  hundred  and  ninety,  entitled  "An  Act  to  protect 
trade  and  commerce  against  unlawful  restraints  and  monop- 
olies," "An  Act  to  regulate  commerce,"  approved  February 
fourth,  eighteen  hundred  and  eighty-seven,  or  any  other  Acts 
having  a  like  purpose  that  may  be  hereafter  enacted. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assem- 
bled, Sec.  1.  (As  amended  June  25,  1910.)  That  in  any 
suit  in  equity  pending  or  hereafter  brought  in  any  cir- 
cuit court  of  the  United  States  under  the  Act  entitled 
"An  Act  to  protect  trade  and  commerce  against  unlaw- 
ful restraints  and  monopolies,"  approved  July  second, 
eighteen  hundred  and  ninety,  "An  Act  to  regulate  com- 
merce."   approved    February    fourth,   eighteen   hundred 


EXPEDITING  ACT.  61 

and  eighty-seven,  or  any  other  Acts  having  a  like  pur- 
pose that  hereafter  may  be  enacted,  wherein  the  United 
States  is  complainant,  the  Attorney  General  may  file  with  Genera!0  r£iy 
the  clerk  of  such  court  a  certificate  that,  in  his  opinion, flle  certiflcate- 
the  case  is  of  general  public  importance,  a  copy  of  which 
shall  be  immediately  furnished  by  such  clerk  to  each  of 
the  circuit  judges  of  the  circuit  in  which  the  case  is 
pending.  Thereupon  such  case  shall  be  given  precedence 
over  others  and  in  every  way  expedited,  and  be  assigned 
for  hearing  at  the  earliest  practicable  day,  before  not  less  f  o^arltng  r  ^ce 
than  three  of  the  circuit  judges  of  said  court,  if  there  beJudgeB- 
three  or  more ;  and  if  there  be  not  more  than  two  circuit 
judges,  then  before  them  and  such  district  judge  as  they 
may  select;  or,  in  case  the  full  court  shall  not  at  any 
time  be  made  up  by  reason  of  the  necessary  absence  or 
disqualification  of  one  or  more  of  the  said  circuit  judges, 
the  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  assigned  to  that  cir- 
cuit or  the  other  circuit  judge  or  judges  may  designate 
a  district  judge  or  judges  within  the  circuit  who  shall  be 
competent  to  sit  in  said  court  at  the  hearing  of  said 
suit.  In  the  event  the  judges  sitting  in  such  case  shall 
be  equally  divided  in  opinion  as  to  the  decision  or  dis- 
position of  said  cause,  or  in  the  event  that  a  majority  of 
said  judges  shall  be  unable  to  agree  upon  the  judgment, 
order,  or  decree  finally  disposing  of  said  case  in  said 
court  which  should  be  entered  in  said  cause,  then  they 
shall  immediatelv  certify  that  fact  to  the  Chief  Justice     Chief  Justice 

*  J  .  to    designate 

of  the  United  States,  who  shall  at  once  designate  and  circuit    judge 

•  ^^  in       n  o  q  p       of 

appoint  some  circuit  judge  to  sit  with  said  judges  and  to  equal  division, 
assist  in  determining  said  cause.  Such  order  of  the  Chief 
Justice  shall  be  immediately  transmitted  to  the  clerk  of 
the  circuit  court  in  which  said  cause  is  pending,  and  shall 
be  entered  upon  the  minutes  of  said  court.  Thereupon  Reargument. 
said  cause  shall  at  once  be  set  down  for  reargument  and 
the  parties  thereto  notified  in  writing  by  the  clerk  of 
said  court  of  the  action  of  the  court  and  the  date  fixed 
for  the  reargument  thereof.  The  provisions  of  this  sec- 
tion shall  apply  to  all  causes  and  proceedings  in  all  courts 
now  pending,  or  which  may  hereafter  be  brought. 

Sec.  2.  That  in  every  suit  in  equity  pending  or  here-    Appeal  to  su- 
after  brought  in  any  circuit  court  of  the  United  States 
under  any  of  said  Acts,  wherein  the  United  States  is  com- 
plainant, including  cases  submitted  but  not  yet  decided, 
an  appeal  from  the  final  decree  of  the  circuit  court  will  lie 


62 


CLAYTON   ANTITBUSI   ACT. 


only  to  the  Supreme  Court  and  must  be  taken  within  sixty 
Exception-  <iavs  from  the  entrv  thereof :  Provided.  That  in  anv  case 
where  an  appeal  may  have  been  taken  from  the  final  decree 
of  a  circuit  court  to  the  circuit  court  of  appeals  before  this 
Act  takes  effect,  the  case  shall  proceed  to  a  final  decree 
therein,  and  an  appeal  may  be  taken  from  such  decree  to 
the  Supreme  Court  in  the  manner  now  provided  by  law. 
Public.  No.  S2.  approved  February  11.  1903:  Public, 
No.  310.  approved  June  25.  1010. 


CLAYTON  ANTITRUST  ACT. 


discrimi- 
nation  in 
prices. 


Exceptions 


Unlawful   so 
to  fix  pr: 
to    create 
nopoly. 


AJN"  ACT  To  supplement  existing  laws  against  unlawful  restraints 
and  monopolies,  and  for  other  purpose - 
*  *  *  *  * 

Sec.  2.  That  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  person  en- 
gaged in  commerce,  in  the  course  of  such  commerce,  either 
directly  or  indirectly  to  discriminate  in  price  between 
different  purchasers  of  commodities,  which  commodities 
are  sold  for  use.  consumption,  or  resale  within  the  United 
States  or  any  Territory  thereof  or  the  District  of  Co- 
lumbia or  any  insular  possession  or  other  place  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States,  where  the  effect  of 
such  discrimination  may  be  to  substantially  lessen  com- 
petition or  tend  to  create  a  monopoly  in  any  line  of  com- 
merce: Provided.  That  nothing  herein  contained  shall 
prevent  discrimination  in  price  between  purchasers 
of  commodities  on  account  of  differences  in  the  grade, 
quality,  or  quantity  of  the  commodity  sold,  or  that  makes 
only  due  allowance  for  difference  in  the  cost  of  selling 
or  transportation,  or  discrimination  in  price  in  the  same 
or  different  communities  made  in  g  .th  to  meet  com- 

petition: And  prodded  further.  That  nothing  herein 
contained  shall  prevent  persons  engaged  in  selling  goods, 
wares,  or  merchandise  in  commerce  from  selecting  their 
n  isomers  in  bona  fide  transactions  and  not  in  re- 
straint of  trade. 

Sec.  3.  That  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  person  en- 
mo~  gaged  in  commerce,  in  the  course  of  such  commerce,  to 
lease  or  make  a  sale  or  contract  for  sale  of  goods,  wares, 
merchandise,  machinery,  supplies  or  other  commodities- 
whether  patented  or  unpatented,  for  use.  consumption  or 
resale  within  the  United  States  or  anv  Territorv  thereof 


CLAYTON   AXHXBUSI   ACT.  63 

or  the  District  of  Columbia  or  any  insular  [  --— :on  or 
other  place  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  St  a: 
or  fix  a  price  charged  therefor,  or  discount  from,  or  re- 
bate upon,  such  price,  on  the  condition,  agreement  or 
understanding  that  the  lessee  or  purchaser  thereof  shall 
not  use  or  deal  in  the  goods,  wares,  merchandise,  ma- 
chinery, supplies  or  other  commodities  of  a  competitor 
or  competitors  of  the  lessor  or  seller,  where  the  effect  of 
such  lease,  sale,  or  contract  for  sale  or  such  condition, 
agreement  or  understanding  may  be  to  substantially 
lessen  competition  or  tend  to  create  a  monopoly  in  any 

line  of  commerce. 

*  *  -  * 

Si  .7.  That  no  corporation  engaged  in  commerce  shall  /^J1^ 
acquire,  directly  or  indirectly,  the  whole  or  any  part  of^P^torpeo" 
the  stock  or  other  share  capital  of  another  corporation 
engaged  also  in  commerce,  where  the  effect  of  such  acqui- 
sition may  be  to  substantially  lessen  competition  between 
the  corporation  whose  stock  is  so  acquired  and  the  cor- 
poration making  the  acquisition,  or  to  restrain  such  com- 
merce in  any  section  or  community,  or  tend  to  create  a 
monopoly  of  any  line  of  commerce. 

Xo  corporation  shall  acquire,  directly  or  indirectly,  the  =esVoinBoS3- 
whole  or  any  part  of  the  stock  or  other  share  capital  of  ^re  P"*3"*- 
two  or  more  corporations  engaged  in  commerce  where  the 
effect  of  such  acquisition,  or  the  use  of  such  stock  by  the 
voting  or  granting  of  proxies  or  otherwise,  may  be  : 
substantially  lessen  competition  between  such  corpora- 
tions, or  any  of  them,  whose  stock  or  other  share  capital 
is  so  acquired,  or  to  restrain  such  commerce  in  any  section 
or  community,  or  tend  to  create  ■  monopoly  of  any  line 
of  commerce. 

Th:    -       on  shall  not  apply  to  corporations  purehask..  "e»taB- 

such  stock  solely  for  investment  and  not  using  the  same 
by  voting  or  otherwise  to  bring  about,  or  in  atrtempting 
to  bring  about,  the  substantial  lessening  of  competition. 
Xor  shall  anything  contained  in  this  section  prevent  a 
corporation  engaged  in  commerce  from  causing  the  for- 
mation of  subsidiary  corporations  for  the  actual  carrying 
on  of  their  immediate  lawful  business,  or  the  natural  and 
legitimate  branches  or  extensions  thereof,  or  from  own- 
ing and  holding  all  or  a  part  of  the  stock  of  such  sub- 
sidiary corporations,  when  the  effect  of  such  formation 
is  not  to  substantially  lessen  competition. 


64  CLAYTON   ANTITRUST   ACT. 

Nor  shall  anything  herein  contained  be  construed  to 
prohibit  any  common  carrier  subject  to  the  laws  to  regu- 
late commerce  from  aiding  in  the  construction  of  branches 
a  bCsaoriebS™ony-  or  sn°rt  lines  so  located  as  to  become  feeders  to  the  main 
short  Pifnestlve  lme  °*  tne  company  so  aiding  in  such  construction  or 
from  acquiring  or  owning  all  or  any  part  of  the  stock 
of  such  branch  lines,  nor  to  prevent  any  such  common 
carrier  from  acquiring  and  owning  all  or  any  part  of  the 
stock  of  a  branch  or  short  line  constructed  by  an  inde- 
pendent company  where  there  is  no  substantial  compe- 
tition bebveen  the  company  owning  the  branch  line  so 
constructed  and  the  company  owning  the  main  line  ac- 
quiring the  property  or  an  interest  therein,  nor  to  pre- 
vent such  common  carrier  from  extending;  any  of  its 
lines  through  the  medium  of  the  acquisition  of  stock  or 
otherwise  of  any  other  such  common  carrier  where  there 
is  no  substantial  competition  between  the  company  ex- 
tending its  lines  and  the  company  whose  stock,  property, 
or  an  interest  therein  is  so  acquired. 
An  ti trust      Nothing  contained  in  this  section  shall  be  held  to  affect 

laws     not     re-  „  ° 

pealed.  or  impair  any  right  heretofore  legally  acquired:  Pro* 

vided.  That  nothing  in  this  section  shall  be  held  or  con- 
strued to  authorize  or  make  lawful  anything  heretofore 
prohibited  or  made  illegal  by  the  antitrust  laws,  nor  to 
exempt  any  person  from  the  penal  provisions  thereof  or 
the  civil  remedies  therein  provided. 
Director  in      SEC.  8.  That  from  and  after  two  years  from  the  date  of 

more   than  one  " 

caplta^prohfb9  tne  aPProval  of  ^s  ^ct  no  person  shall  at  the  same  time 
ited-  be  a  director  or  other  officer  or  employee  of  more  than 

one  bank,  banking  association  or  trust  company,  organ- 
ized or  operating  under  the  laws  of  the  United  States, 
either  of  which  has  deposits,  capital,  surplus,  and  undi- 
vided profits  aggregating  more  than  $5,000,000:  and  no 
private  banker  or  person  who  is  a  director  in  any  bank 
or  trust  company,  organized  and  operating  under  the 
laws  of  a  State,  having  deposits,  capital,  surplus,  and 
undivided  profits  aggregating  more  than  $5,000,000,  shall 
be  eligible  to  be  a  director  in  any  bank  or  banking  asso- 
ciation organized  or  operating  under  the  laws  of  the 
offl^eirgibility  of  United  States.  The  eligibility  of  a  director,  officer,  or 
employee  under  the  foregoing  provisions  shall  be  deter- 
mined by  the  average  amount  of  deposits,  capital,  surplus, 
and  undivided  profits  as  shown  in  the  official  statements 
of  such  bank,  banking  association,  or  trust  company  filed 


CLAYTON   ANTITRUST   ACT.  65 

as  provided  by  law  during  the  fiscal  year  next  preceding 
the  date  set  for  the  annual  election  of  directors,  and  when 
a  director,  officer,  or  employee  has  been  elected  or  selected 
in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  this  Act  it  shall  be 
lawful  for  him  to  continue  as  such  for  one  year  thereafter 
under  said  election  or  employment. 

No  bank,  banking  association  or  trust  company,  organ-     Officer  in 

e  r       J  '        °  smaller     bank 

ized  or  operating  under  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  can  not  serve  in 

.  ,  .  another  bank. 

in  any  city  or  incorporated  town  or  village  of  more  than 
two  hundred  thousand  inhabitants,  as  shown  by  the  last 
preceding  decennial  census  of  the  United  States,  shall 
have  as  a  director  or  other  officer  or  employee  any  private 
banker  or  any  director  or  other  officer  or  employee  of 
any  other  bank,  banking  association  or  trust  company 
located  in  the  same  place :  Provided,  That  nothing  in  this 
section  shall  apply  to  mutual  savings  banks  not  having 
a  capital  stock  represented  by  shares:  Provided  further, 
That  a  director  or  other  officer  or  employee  of  such  bank, 
banking  association,  or  trust  company  may  be  a  director 
or  other  officer  or  employee  of  not  more  than  one  other 
bank  or  trust  company  organized  under  the  laws  of  the 
United  States  or  any  State  where  the  entire  capital  stock 
of  one  is  owned  by  stockholders  in  the  other :  And  pro- 
vided further,  That  nothing  contained  in  this  section 
shall  forbid  a  director  of  class  A  of  a  Federal  reserve 
bank,  as  defined  in  the  Federal  Reserve  Act  from  being 
an  officer  or  director  or  both  an  officer  and  director  in  one 
member  bank. 

That  from  and  after  two  years  from  the  date  of  the     unlawful  for 

J  #  same  person  to 

approval  of  this  Act  no  person  at  the  same  time  shall  be  be  director  in 

11  L  m  two     or     more 

a  director  in  any  two  or  more  corporations,  any  one  of  corporations. 
which  has  capital,  surplus,  and  undivided  profits  aggre- 
gating more  than  $1,000,000,  engaged  in  whole  or  in  part 
in  commerce,  other  than  banks,  banking  associations,  trust 
companies  and  common  carriers  subject  to  the  Act  to 
regulate  commerce,  approved  February  fourth,  eighteen 
hundred  and  eighty-seven,  if  such  corporations  are  or 
shall  have  been  theretofore,  by  virtue  of  their  business 
and  location  of  operation,  competitors,  so  that  the  elimi- 
nation of  competition  by  agreement  between  them  would 
constitute  a  violation  of  an}7  of  the  provisions  of  any  of 
the  antitrust  laws.  The  eligibility  of  a  director  under  the 
foregoing  provision  shall  be  determined  by  the  aggregate 
amount  of  the  capital,  surplus,  and  undivided  profits,  ex- 
66170°— 14 5 


66  CLAYTON   ANTITRUST   ACT. 

elusive  of  dividends  declared  but  not  paid  to  stockholders, 
at  the  end  of  the  fiscal  year  of  said  corporation  next  pre- 
ceding the  election  of  directors,  and  when  a -director  has 
been  elected  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  this  Act 
it  shall  be  lawful  for  him  to  continue  as  such  for  one  year 
thereafter. 
tionsemay  exist  When  any  person  elected  or  chosen  as  a  director  or 
for  one  year.  0fticer  or  selected  as  an  employee  of  any  bank  or  other 
corporation  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  Act  is  eligible 
at  the  time  of  his  election  or  selection  to  act  for  such  bank 
or  other  corporation  in  such  capacity  his  eligibility  to 
act  in  such  capacity  shall  not  be  affected  and  he  shall 
not  become  or  be  deemed  amenable  to  any  of  the  pro- 
visions hereof  by  reason  of  any  change  in  the  affairs  of 
such  bank  or  other  corporation  from  whatsoever  cause, 
whether  specifically  excepted  by  any  of  the  provisions 
hereof  or  not,  until  the  expiration  of  one  year  from  the 
date  of  his  election  or  employment. 
mentmof  fundt  Sec.  9-  Eyery  president,  director,  officer  or  manager 
of  any  firm,  association  or  corporation  engaged  in  com- 
merce as  a  common  carrier,  who  embezzles,  steals,  ab- 
stracts or  willfully  misapplies,  or  willfully  permits  to 
be  misapplied,  any  of  the  moneys,  funds,  credits,  securi- 
ties, property  or  assets  of  such  firm,  association  or  cor- 
poration, arising  or  accruing  from,  or  used  in,  such  com- 
merce, in  whole  or  in  part,  or  willfully  or  knowingly  con- 
verts the  same  to  his  own  use  or  to  the  use  of  another, 
shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  felony  and  upon  conviction 
shall  be  fined  not  less  than  $500  or  confined  in  the  peni- 
tentiary not  less  than  one  year  nor  more  than  ten  years, 
or  both,  in  the  discretion  of  the  court. 
in^dist^Vct  Prosecutions  hereunder  may  be  in  the  district  court 
courts.  of  the  United  States  for  the  district  wherein  the  offense 

may  have  been  committed, 
state  courts.     That  nothing  in  this  section  shall  be  held  to  take  away 
or  impair  the  jurisdiction  of  the  courts  of  the  several 
States  under  the  laws  thereof ;  and  a  judgment  of  convic- 
tion or  acquittal  on  the  merits  under  the  laws  of  any  State 
shall  be  a  bar  to  any  prosecution  hereunder  for  the  same 
act  or  acts. 
hiSted  erf rPorm      ^ec.  10-  That  a^ter  two  years  from  the  approval  of  this 
tfomh  Snothe?  ^ct  no  common  carrier  engaged  in  commerce  shall  have 
havring0rastaimeany  dealings  in.  securities,  supplies  or  other  articles  of 
officers.  commerce,  or  shall  make  or  have  any  contracts  for  con- 

struction or  maintenance  of  any  kind,  to  the  amount  of 


CLAYTON   ANTITRUST   ACT.  67 

more  than  $50,000,  in  the  aggregate,  in  any  one  year,  with 
another  corporation,  firm,  partnership  or  association 
when  the  said  common  carrier  shall  have  upon  its  board 
of  directors  or  as  its  president,  manager  or  as  its  pur- 
chasing or  selling  officer,  or  agent  in  the  particular  trans- 
action, any  person  who  is  at  the  same  time  a  direetoi\ 
manager,  or  purchasing  or  selling  officer  of,  or  who  has 
any  substantial  interest  in,  such  other  corporation,  firm, 
partnership  or  association,  unless  and  except  such  pur- 
chases shall  be  made  from,  or  such  dealings  shall  be  with, 
the  bidder  whose  bid  is  the  most  favorable  to  such  com- 
mon carrier,  to  be  ascertained  by  competitive  bidding 
under  regulations  to  be  prescribed  by  rule  or  otherwise 
by  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission.  No  bid  shall  vifCddsbyUptehre 
be  received  unless  the  name  and  address  of  the  bidder  or  commission, 
the  names  and  addresses  of  the  officers,  directors  and  gen- 
eral managers  thereof,  if  the  bidder  be  a  corporation,  or 
of  the  members,  if  it  be  a  partnership  or  firm,  be  given 
with  the  bid. 

Any  person  who  shall,  directly  or  indirectly,  do  or  realty, 
attempt  to  do  anything  to  prevent  anyone  from  bidding 
or  shall  do  any  act  to  prevent  free  and  fair  competition 
among  the  bidders  or  those  desiring  to  bid  shall  be  pun- 
ished as  prescribed  in  this  section  in  the  case  of  an  officer 
or  director. 

Every  such  common  carrier  having  any  such  transac-  pifreJ?nr£88e°J 
tions  or  making  any  such  purchases  shall  within  'thirty  ™fsdsfonto  Com- 
days  after  making  the  same  file  with  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Commission  a  full  and  detailed  statement  of  the 
transaction  showing  the  manner  of  the  competitive  bid- 
ding, who  were  the  bidders,  and  the  names  and  addresses 
of  the  directors  and  officers  of  the  corporations  and  the 
members  of  the  firm  or  partnership  bidding ;  and  when- 
ever the  said  Commission  shall,  after  investigation  or 
hearing,  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  law  has  been 
violated  in  and  about  the  said  purchases  or  transactions 
it  shall  transmit  all  papers  and  documents  and  its  own 
views  or  findings  regarding  the  transaction  to  the  At- 
torney General. 

If  any  common  carrier  shall  violate  this  section  it  shall    Fenalty-* 
be  fined  not  exceeding  $25,000 ;  and  every  such  director, 
agent,  manager  or  officer  thereof  who  shall  have  know- 
ingly voted  for  or  directed  the  act  constituting  such  vio- 
lation or  who  shall  have  aided  or  abetted  in  such  violation 


68 


CLAYTON   ANTITRUST  ACT. 


Authority  of 
the  Commis- 
sion. 


Procedure. 


shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  and  shall  be 
fined  not  exceeding  $5,000,  or  confined  in  jail  not  exceed- 
ing one  year,  or  both,  in  the  discretion  of  the  court. 

Sec.  11.  That  authority  to  enforce  compliance  with 
sections  two,  three,  seven  and  eight  of  this  Act  by  the 
persons  respectively  subject  thereto  is  hereby  vested:  in 
the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  where  applicable 
to  common  carriers,  in  the  Federal  Reserve  Board  where 
applicable  to  banks,  banking  associations  and  trust  com- 
panies, and  in  the  Federal  Trade  Commission  where  ap- 
plicable to  all  other  character  of  commerce,  to  be  ex- 
ercised as  follows: 

Whenever  the  Commission  or  board  vested  with  juris- 
diction thereof  shall  have  reason  to  believe  that  any  per- 
son is  violating  or  has  violated  any  of  the  provisions  of 
sections  two,  three,  seven  and  eight  of  this  Act,  it  shall 
issue  and  serve  upon  such  person  a  complaint  stating 
its  charges  in  that  respect,  and  containing  a  notice  of  a 
hearing  upon  a  day  and  at  a  place  therein  fixed  at  least 
thirty  days  after  the  service  of  said  complaint.  The  first 
so  complained  of  shall  have  the  right  to  appear  at  the 
place  and  time  so  fixed  and  show  cause  why  an  order 
should  not  be  entered  by  the  Commission  or  board  re- 
quiring such  person  to  cease  and  desist  from  the  violation 
of  the  law  so  charged  in  said  complaint.  Any  person 
may  make  application,  and  upon  good  cause  shown  may 
be  allowed  by  the  Commission  or  board,  to  intervene  and 
appear  in  said  proceeding  by  counsel  or  in  person.  The 
testimony  in  any  such  proceeding  shall  be  reduced  to 
writing  and  filed  in  the  office  of  the  Commission  or  board. 
If  upon  such  hearing  the  Commission  or  board,  as  the 
case  may  be,  shall  be  of  the  opinion  that  any  of  the  pro- 
visions of  said  sections  have  been  or  are  being  violated,  it 
shall  make  a  report  in  writing  in  which  it  shall  state  its 
findings  as  to  the  facts,  and  shall  issue  and  cause  to  be 
served  on  such  person  an  order  requiring  such  person  to 
cease  and  desist  from  such  violations,  and  divest  itself 
of  the  stock  held  or  rid  itself  of  the  directors  chosen  con- 
trary to  the  provisions  of  sections  seven  and  eight  of 
this  Act,  if  any  there  be,  in  the  manner  and  within  the 
Rehearings.  tmie  fixe(j  Dy  sgi[^  order.  Until  a  transcript  of  the  record 
in  such  hearing  shall  have  been  filed  in  a  circuit  court  of 
appeals  of  the  United  States,  as  hereinafter  provided,  the 
Commission  or  board  may  at  any  time,  upon  such  notice 


Interveners. 


Hearings. 


Order. 


CLAYTON   ANTITRUST  ACT.  69 

and  in  such  manner  as  it  shall  deem  proper,  modify  or 
set  aside,  in  whole  or  in  part,  any  report  or  any  order 
made  or  issued  by  it  under  this  section. 

If  such  person  fails  or  neglects  to  obey  such  order  of  ma^TppeaPto 
the  Commission  or  board  while  the  same  is  in  effect,  the  courts- 
Commission  or  board  may  apply  to  the  circuit  court  of 
appeals  of  the  United  States,  within  any  circuit  where 
the  violation  complained  of  was  or  is  being  committed  or 
where  such  person  resides  or  carries  on  business,  for  the 
enforcement  of  its  order,  and  shall  certify  and  file  with 
its  application  a  transcript  of  the  entire  record  in  the 
proceding,  including  all  the  testimony  taken  and  the 
report  and  order  of  the  Commission  or  board.     Upon     Procedure, 
such  filing  of  the  application  and  transcript  the  court 
shall  cause  notice  thereof  to  be  served  upon  such  person 
and  thereupon  shall  have  jurisdiction  of  the  proceeding 
and  of  the  question  determined  therein,  and  shall  have 
power  to  make  and  enter  upon  the  pleadings,  testimony, 
and  proceedings  set  forth  in  such  transcript  a  decree  af- 
firming, modifying,  or  setting  aside  the  order  of  the 
Commission  or  board.    The  findings  of  the  Commission  factndings   of 
or  board  as  to  the  facts,  if  supported  by  testimony,  shall 
be  conclusive.    If  either  party  shall  apply  to  the  court  evident" °nal 
for  leave  to  adduce  additional  evidence,  and  shall  show 
to  the  satisfaction  of  the  court  that  such  additional  evi- 
dence is  material  and  that  there  were  reasonable  grounds 
for  the  failure  to  adduce  such  evidence  in  the  proceeding 
before  the  Commission  or  board,  the  court  may  order  such 
additional  evidence  to  be  taken  before  the  Commission  or 
board  and  to  be  adduced  upon  the  hearing  in  such  man- 
ner and  upon  such  terms  and  conditions  as  to  the  court 
may  seem  proper.    The  Commission  or  board  may  modify 
its  findings  as  to  the  facts,  or  make  new  findings,  by 
reason  of  the  additional  evidence  so  taken,  and  it  shall 
file  such  modified  or  new  findings,  which,  if  supported 
by  testimony,  shall  be  conclusive,  and  its  recommenda- 
tion, if  any,  for  the  modification  or  setting  aside  of  its 
original  order,  with  the  return  of  such  additional  evi- 
dence.   The  judgment  and  decree  of  the  court  shall  be  SuJremeecou& 
final,  except  that  the  same  shall  be  subject  to  review  by 
the  Supreme  Court  upon  .certiorari  as  provided  in  section 
two  hundred  and  forty  of  the  Judicial  Code. 

Any  party  required  by  such  order  of  the  Commission  a  J™™,111^ 
or  board  to  cease  and  desist  from  a  violation  charged  may courts- 
obtain  a  review  of  such  order  in  said  circuit  court  of 


70 


CLAYTON    ANTITKUST   ACT. 


Procedure. 


Findings 
fact. 


J  u  r  isdiction 
of  courts. 


Prci-pdence. 


appeals  by  filing  in  the  court  a  written  petition  praying 
that  the  order  of  the  Commission  or  board  be  set  aside. 
A  copy  of  such  petition  shall  be  forthwith  served  upon 
the  Commission  or  board,  and  thereupon  the  Commission 
or  board  forthwith  shall  certify  and  file  in  the  court  a 
transcript  of  the  record  as  hereinbefore  provided.  Upon 
the  filing  of  the  transcript  the  court  shall  have  the  same 
jurisdiction  to  affirm,  set  aside,  or  modify  the  order  of 
the  Commission  or  board  as  in  the  case  of  an  application 
by  the  Commission  or  board  for  the  enforcement  of  its 

of  order,  and  the  findings  of  the  Commission  or  board  as  to 
the  facts,  if  -supported  by  testimony,  shall  in  like  manner 
be  conclusive. 

The  jurisdiction  of  the  circuit  court  of  appeals  of  the 
United  States  to  enforce,  set  aside,  or  modify  orders  of 
the  Commission  or  board  shall  be  exclusive. 

Such  proceedings  in  the  circuit  court  of  appeals  shall 
be  given  precedence  over  other  cases  pending  therein, 
and  shall  be  in  every  way  expedited.  No  order  of  the 
Commission  or  board  or  the  judgment  of  the  court  to 
enforce  the  same  shall  in  any  wise  relieve  or  absolve  any 
person  from  any  liability  under  the  antitrust  Acts. 

of  Complaints,  orders,  and  other  processes  of  the  Com- 
mission or  board  under  this  section  may  be  served  by  any- 
one duly  authorized  by  the  Commission  or  board,  either 
(a)  by  delivering  a  copy  thereof  to  the  person  to  be 
served,  or  to  a  member  of  the  partnership  to  be  served, 
or  to  the  president,  secretary,  or  other  executive  officer 
or  a  director  of  the  corporation  to  be  served;  or  (b)  by 
leaving  a  copy  thereof  at  the  principal  office  or  place  of 
business  of  such  person;  or  (c)  by  registering  and  mail- 
ing a  copy  thereof  addressed  to  such  person  at  his  prin- 
cipal office  or  place  of  business.  The  verified  return  by 
the  person  so  serving  said  complaint,  order,  or  other 
process  setting  forth  the  manner  of  said  service  shall  be 
proof  of  the  same,  and  the  return  post-office  receipt  for 
said  complaint,  order,  or  other  process  registered  and 
mailed  as  aforesaid  shall  be  proof  of  the  service  of  the 

same. 

*  *  *  *  * 

Sec.  15.  That  the  several  district  courts  of  the  United 

of'Tclomtsiction^tates  are  nereDy  invested  with  jurisdiction  to  prevent 
and  restrain  violations  of  this  Act,  and  it  shall  be  the 
duty  of  the  several  district  attorneys  of  the  United 
States,  in  their  respective  districts,  under  the  direction 
of   the   Attorney   General,   to   institute  proceedings   in 


Service 
processes. 


CLAYTON   ANTITRUST   ACT.  71 

equity  to  prevent  and  restrain  such  violations.     Such     Procedure. 

proceedings  may  be  by  way  of  petition  setting  forth  the 

case  and  praying  that  such  violation  shall  be  enjoined 

or  otherwise  prohibited.     When  the  parties  complained     Hearings. 

of  shall  have  been  duly  notified  of  such  petition,  the  court 

shall  proceed,  as  soon  as  may  be,  to  the  hearing  and 

determination  of  the  case;  and  pending  such  petition, 

and  before  final  decree,  the  court  may  at  any  time  make 

such  temporary  restraining  order  or  prohibition  as  shall 

be  deemed  just  in  the  premises.     Whenever  it  shall  ap-     Parties. 

pear  to  the  court  before  which  any  such  proceeding  may 

be  pending  that  the  ends  of  justice  require  that  other 

parties  should  be  brought  before  the  court,  the  court  may 

cause  them  to  be  summoned  whether  they  reside  in  the 

district  in  which  the  court  is  held  or  not,  and  subpoenas 

to  that  end  may  be  served  in  any  district  by  the  marshal 

thereof. 

Sec.  16.   That  any  person,  firm,  corporation,  or  asso-  ^eiL?/  u  nctlve 
ciation  shall  be  entitled  to  sue  for  and  have  injunctive 
relief,  in  any  court  of  the  United  States  having  juris 
diction  over  the  parties,  against  threatened  loss  or  dam- 
age by  a  violation  of  the  antitrust  laws,  including  sec- 
tions two,  three,  seven  and  eight  of  this  Act,  when  and 
under  the  same  conditions  and  principles  as  injunctive 
relief  against  threatened  conduct  that  will  cause  loss  or 
damage  is  granted  by  courts  of  equity,  under  the  rules 
governing  such  proceedings,  and  upon  the  execution  of 
proper  bond  against  damages  for  an  injunction  improvi-     Bond< 
dently  granted  and  a  showing  that  the  danger  of  irrep- 
arable loss  or  damage  is  immediate,  a  preliminary  in- 
junction may  issue:  Provided,  That  nothing  herein  con-  onYy'may^ek 
tained  shall  be  construed  to  entitle  any  person,  firm,  cor-  against  Val-11- 
poration,  or  association,  except  the  United   States,  toriers- 
bring  suit  in  equity  for  injunctive  relief  against  any 
common  carrier  subject  to  the  provisions  of  the  Act  to 
regulate  commerce,  approved  February  fourth,  eighteen 
hundred  and  eighty-seven,  in  respect  of  any  matter  sub- 
ject to  the  regulation,  supervision,  or  other  jurisdiction 
of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission. 

Sec.  IT.  That  no  preliminary  injunction  shall  be  issued     Notice- 
without  notice  to  the  opposite  party. 

No  temporary  restraining  order  shall  be  granted  with-  order  f  Ia  nms 
out  notice  to  the  opposite  party  unless  it  shall  clearly 
appear  from  specific  facts  shown  by  affidavit  or  by  the 


72 


CLAYTON   ANTITEUST   ACT. 


IrreDarable 
injury. 


Hearings. 


Dissolution. 


verified  bill  that  immediate  and  irreparable  injury,  loss, 
or  damage  will  result  to  the  applicant  before  notice  can 
be  served  and  a  hearing  had  thereon.  Every  such  tem- 
porary restraining  order  shall  be  indorsed  with  the  date 
and  hour  of  issuance,  shall  be  forthwith  filed  in  the  clerk's 
office  and  entered  of  record,  shall  define  the  injury  and 
state  why  it  is  irreparable  and  why  the  order  was 
granted  without  notice,  and  shall  by  its  terms  expire 
within  such  time  after  entry,  not  to  exceed  ten  days,  as 
the  court  or  judge  may  fix.  unless  within  the  time  so  fixed 
the  order  is  extended  for  a  like  period  for  good  cause 
shown,  and  the  reasons  for  such  extension  shall  be  en- 
tered of  record.  In  case  a  temporary  restraining  order 
shall  be  granted  without  notice  in  the  contingency  speci- 
fied, the  matter  of  the  issuance  of  a  preliminary  injunc- 
tion shall  be  set  down  for  a  hearing  at  the  earliest  pos- 
sible time  and  shall  take  precedence  of  all  matters  except 
older  matters  of  the  same  character ;  and  when  the  same 
comes  up  for  hearing  the  party  obtaining  the  temporary 
restraining  order  shall  proceed  with  the  application  for 
a  preliminary  injunction,  and  if  he  does  not  do  so  the 
court  shall  dissolve  the  temporary  restraining  order. 
Upon  two  days'  notice  to  the  party  obtaining  such  tem- 
porary restraining  order  the  opposite  party  may  appear 
and  move  the  dissolution  or  modification  of  the  order, 
and  in  that  event  the  court  or  judge  shall  proceed  to 
hear  and  determine  the  motion  as  expeditiously  as  the 
ends  of  justice  may  require. 


Bond. 


Sec.  18.  That,  except  as  otherwise  provided  in  section 
16  of  this  Act,  no  restraining  order  or  interlocutory 
order  of  injunction  shall  issue,  except  upon  the  giving 
of  security  by  the  applicant  in  such  sum  as  the  court  or 
judge  may  deem  proper,  conditioned  upon  the  payment 
of  such  costs  and  damages  as  may  be  incurred  or  suf- 
fered by  any  party  who  may  be  found  to  have  been 
wrongfully  enjoined  or  restrained  thereby, 
sons  for  ana  Sec.  19.  That  every  order  of  injunction  or  restraining 
?atVon.°  appU"  order  shall  set  forth  the  reasons  for  the  issuance  of  the 
same,  shall  be  specific  in  terms,  and  shall  describe  in 
reasonable  detail,  and  not  by  reference  to  the  bill  of  com- 
plaint or  other  document,  the  act  or  acts  sought  to  be  re- 
strained, and  shall  be  binding  only  upon  the  parties  to 
the  suit,  their  officers,  agents,  servants,  employees,  and 


GOVERNMENT-AIDED   RAILROAD  AND  TELEGRAPH   ACT.  73 

attorneys,  or  those  in  active  concert  or  participating  with 
them,  and  who  shall,  by  personal  service  or  otherwise, 
have  received  actual  notice  of  the  same. 


of 
in- 


Sec.  26.  If  any  clause,  sentence,  paragraph,  or  part  of  Acxtf  g^J  t 
this  Act  shall,  for  any  reason,  be  adjudged  by  any  court  Jaar{8!  S^Sot 
of  competent  jurisdiction  to  be  invalid,  such  judgment be  affected- 
shall  not  affect,  impair,  or  invalidate  the  remainder 
thereof,  but  shall  be  confined  in  its  operation  to  the 
clause,  sentence,  paragraph,  or  part  thereof  directly  in- 
volved in  the  controversy  in  which  such  judgment  shall 
have  been  rendered. 

Public,  No.  212,  approved  October  15,  1914. 


GOVERNMENT-AIDED  RAILROAD  AND  TELEGRAPH  ACT. 

AN  ACT  Supplementary  to  the  Act  of  July  first,  eighteen  hundred 
and  sixty-two,  entitled  "An  Act  to  aid  in  the  construction  of  a 
railroad  and  telegraph  line  from  the  Missouri  River  to  the  Pa- 
cific Ocean,  and  to  secure  to  the  Government  the  use  of  the  same 
for  postal,  military,  and  other  purposes,"  and  also  of  the  Act 
of  July  second,  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-four,  and  other  Acts 
amendatory  of  said  first-named  Act. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assem- 
bled, That  all  railroad  and  telegraph  companies  to  which     Government- 

'  ••     •  i       •       -i       j  aided    railroad 

the  United  States  has  granted  anv  subsidv  m  lands  or  and  telegraph 

T  1  •        "  £     -,i  -i     lines       must 

bonds  or  loan  of  credit  tor  the  construction  oi  either  rail-  tn emseives 
road  or  telegraph  lines,  which,  by  the  Acts  incorporating  operate. 
them,  or  by  any  Act  amendatory  or  supplementary  thereto, 
are  required  to  construct,  maintain,  or  operate  telegraph 
lines,  and  all  companies  engaged  in  operating  said  rail- 
road or  telegraph  lines  shall  forthwith  and  henceforward, 
by  and  through  their  own  respective  corporate  officers  and 
employees,  maintain  and  operate,  for  railroad,  govern- 
mental, commercial,  and  all  other  purposes,  telegraph 
lines,  and  exercise  by  themselves  alone  all  the  telegraph 
franchises  conferred  upon  them  and  obligations  assumed 
by  them  under  the  Acts  making  the  grants  as  aforesaid. 

Sec.  2.  That  whenever  any  telegraph  company  which  Connecting 
shall  have  accepted  the  provisions  of  title  sixty-five  of  lines. 
the  Eevised  Statutes  shall  extend  its  line  to  any  station 
or  office  of  a  telegraph  line  belonging  to  any  one  of  said 
railroad  or  telegraph  companies,  referred  to  in  the  first 
section  of  this  Act,  said  telegraph  company  so  extending 
its  line  shall  have  the  right  and  said  railroad  or  telegraph 
company  shall  allow  the  line  of  said  telegraph  company 
so  extending  its  line  to  connect  with  the  telegraph  line  of 


74  GOVERNMENT-AIDED  RAILROAD  AND   TELEGRAPH   ACT. 

said  railroad  or  telegraph  company  to  which  it  is  ex- 
tended at  the  place  where  their  lines  may  meet,  for  the 
prompt  and  convenient  interchange  of  telegraph  business 
tie^requ^ed11" between  said  companies;  and  such  railroad  and  telegraph 
companies,  referred  to  in  the  first  section  of  this  Act, 
shall  so  operate  their  respective   telegraph    lines    as   to 
afford  equal  facilities  to  all,  without  discrimination  in 
favor  of  or  against  any  person,  company,  or  corporation 
whatever,  and  shall  receive,  deliver,  and  exchange  busi- 
ness with  connecting  telegraph  lines  on  equal  terms,  and 
affording  equal  facilities,  and  without  discrimination  for 
or  against  any  one  of  such  connecting  lines;  and  such  ex- 
change of  business  shall  be  on  terms  just  and  equitable. 
toCi°n™erstatI      Sec.  3-  That  if  any  such  railroad  or  telegraph  com- 
commi^on!  °  e  pany  referred  to  in  the  first  section  of  this  Act  or  com- 
pany  operating   such   railroad   or   telegraph   line   shall 
refuse  or  fail,  in  whole  or  in  part,  to  maintain  and  oper- 
ate a  telegraph  line  as  provided  in  this  Act  and  Acts  to 
which  this  is  supplementary,  for  the  use  of  the  Govern- 
ment or  the  public,  for  commercial  and  other  purposes, 
Avithout  discrimination,  or  shall  refuse  or  fail  to  make  or 
continue  such  arrangements  for  the  interchange  of  busi  ■ 
ness  with  any  connecting  telegraph  company,  then  any 
person,  company,  corporation,  or  connecting  telegraph 
company  may  apply  for  relief  to  the  Interstate  Com- 
c  o^mfssVon merce  Commission,  whose  duty  it  shall  thereupon  be, 
Jiifint1  is  made"  under  such  rules  and  regulations  as  said  Commission  may 
prescribe,  to  ascertain  the  facts,  and  determine  and  order 
what  arrangement  is  proper  to  be  made  in  the  particu- 
lar case,  and  the  railroad  or  telegraph  company  con- 
cerned shall  abide  by  and  perform  such  order;  and  it 
shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commis- 
sion, when  such  determination  and  order  are  made,  to 
notify  the  parties  concerned,  and,  if  necessary,  enforce 
the  same  by  writ  of  mandamus  in  the   courts  of  the 
United  States,  in  the  name  of  the  United  States,  at  the 
relation  of  either  of  said  Interstate  Commerce  Commis- 
maymi™st1tutesioners:  Provided,  That  the  said  Commissioners  may  in- 
owtb  motion,     stitute  any  inquiry,  upon  their  own  motion,  in  the  same 
manner  and  to  the  same  effect  as  though  complaint  had 
been  made. 
Attorney0  Gen-     Sec.  4.  That  in  order  to  secure  and  preserve  to  the 
Act. "  s  United  States  the  full  value  and  benefit  of  its  liens  upon 

all  the  telegraph  lines  required  to  be  constructed  by  and 


GOVERNMENT-AIDED   RAILROAD  AND   TELEGRAPH   ACT.  75 

lawfully  belonging  to  said  railroad  and  telegraph  com- 
panies referred  to  in  the  first  section  of  this  Act,  and  to 
have  the  same  possessed,  used,  and  operated  in  conformity 
with  the  provisions  of  this  Act  and  of  the  several  Acts  to 
which  this  Act  is  supplementary,  it  is  hereby  made  the 
duty  of  the  Attorney  General  of  the  United  States,  by 
proper  proceedings,  to  prevent  any  unlawful  interference 
with  the  rights  and  equities  of  the  United  States  under 
this  Act,  and  under  the  Acts  hereinbefore  mentioned,  and 
under  all  Acts  of  Congress  relating  to  such  railroads 
and  telegraph  lines,  and  to  have  legally  ascertained  and 
finally  adjudicated  all  alleged  rights  of  all  persons  and 
corporations  whatever  claiming  in  any  manner  any  con- 
trol or  interest  of  any  kind  .in  any  telegraph  lines  or 
propert}7,  or  exclusive  rights  of  way  upon  the  lands  of 
said  railroad  companies,  or  any  of  them,  and  to  have  all 
contracts  and  provisions  of  contracts  set  aside  and  an- 
nulled which  have  been  unlawfully  and  beyond  their 
powers  entered  into  by  said  railroad  oc  telegraph  com- 
panies, or  any  of  them,  with  any  other  person,  company, 
or  corporation. 

Sec.  5.  That  any  officer  or  agent  of  said  railroad  or  fau^j^com* 
telegraph  companies,  or  of  any  company  operating  the  j^yj^ons  °ol 
railroads  and  telegraph  lines  of  said  companies,  who  shall  ordei^ctofl  the 
refuse  or  fail  to  operate  the  telegraph  lines  of  said  rail-  cVm  m  e  r  c  e 
road  or  telegraph  companies  under  his  control,  or  which  commisslon- 
he  is  engaged  in  operating,  in  the  manner  directed  in  this 
Act  and  by  the  Acts  to  which  it  is  supplementary,  or  who 
shall  refuse  or  fail,  in  such  operation  and  use,  to  afford 
and  secure  to  the  Government  and  the  public  equal  facili- 
ties, or  to  secure  to  each  of  said  connecting  telegraph  lines 
equal  advantages  and  facilities  in  the  interchange  of  busi- 
ness, as  herein  provided  for,  without  any  discrimination 
whatever  for  or  adverse  to  the  telegraph  line  of  any  or 
either  of  said  connecting  companies,  or  shall  refuse  to 
abide  by,  or  perform  and  carry  out  within  a  reasonable 
time  the  order  or  orders  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mission, shall  in  every  such  case  of  refusal  or  failure  be 
guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and,  on  conviction  thereof,  shall 
in  every  such  case  be  fined  in  a  sum  not  exceeding  one 
thousand  dollars,  and  may  be  imprisoned  not  less  than  six 
months;  and  in  every  such  case  of  refusal  or  failure  the 
party  aggrieved  may  not  only  cause  the  officer  or  agent 
guilty  thereof  to  be  prosecuted  under  the  provisions  of 


76  GOVERNMENT- AIDED  RAILROAD   AXD   TELEGRAPH   ACT. 

Actions  forthis  section,  but  inav  also  bring  an  action  for  the  damages 

damages  '  -  to  ° 

b?ou  ht's°  be  sustained  thereby  against  the  company  whose  officer  or 
agent  may  be  guilty  thereof,  in  the  circuit  or  district  court 
of  the  United  States  in  any  State  or  Territory  in  which 
any  portion  of  the  road  or  telegraph  line  of  said  company 
may  be  situated :  and  in  case  of  suit  process  may  be  served 
upon  any  agent  of  the  company  found  in  such  State  or 
Territory,  and  such  service  shall  be  held  by  the  court 
good  and  sufficient. 

ro?d  'and*  tele-       SeC-  6'    That  lt  slla11  be  tne  dutv  °f  eaCn  and  eTelT  one 

subject  tolhis0^  the  aforesaid  railroad  and  telegraph  companies,  within 
^fofw^tracts s^xt.v  days  from  and  after  the  passage  of  this  Act,  to  file 
w?th  fhe'com-^'i^1  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  copies  of  all 
mission.  contracts  and  agreements  of  every  description  existing 

between  it  and  every  other  person  or  corporation  whatso- 
ever in  reference  to  the  ownership,  possession,  mainte- 
nance, control,  use,  or  operation  of  any  telegraph  lines,  or 
property  over  or  upon  its  rights  of  way,  and  also  a  report 
describing  with  sufficient  certainty  the  telegraph  lines  and 
property  belonging  to  it,  and  the  manner  in  which  the 
same  are  being  then  used  and  operated  by  it,  and  the 
telegraph  lines  and  property  upon  its  right  of  way  in 
which  any  other  person  or  corporation  claims  to  have  a 
title  or  interest,  and  setting  forth  the  grounds  of  such 
claim,  and  the  manner  in  which  the  same  are  being  then 
Annual  re- used  and  operated;  and  it  shall  be  the  dutv  of  each  and 

ports    to    the  r       .         '  ^ 

commission,  every  one  01  said  railroad  and  telegraph  companies  annu- 
ally hereafter  to  report  to  the  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mission, with  reasonable  fullness  and  certainty,  the  na- 
ture, extent,  value,  and  condition  of  the  telegraph  lines 
and  property  then  belonging  to  it,  the  gross  earnings,  and 
all  expenses  of  maintenance,  use,  and  operation  thereof, 
and  its  relation  and  business  with  all  connecting  telegraph 
companies  during  the  preceding  year,  at  such  time  and  in 
such  manner  as  may  be  required  by  a  system  of  reports 
Penalties  for -which  said  Commission  shall  prescribe:  and  if  any  of 

refusal  to  make  -1  7  <■    • 

reports  to  Com-  said  railroad  or  telegraph  companies  shall  refuse  or  fail 
to  make  such  reports  or  any  report  as  may  be  called  for 
by  said  Commission,  or  refuse  to  submit  its  books  and 
records  for  inspection,  such  neglect  or  refusal  shall  oper- 
ate as  a  forfeiture,  in  each  case  of  such  neglect  or  refusal, 
of  a  sum  not  less  than  one  thousand  dollars  nor  more  than 
five  thousand  dollars,  to  be  recovered  by  the  Attorney 
General  of  the  United  States,  in  the  name  and  for  the  use 


mission. 


LAKE  ERIE   AND   OHIO   EIVEE   SHIP   CANAL.  77 

and  benefit  of  the  United  States;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  t0^G°^\ 
of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  to  inform  the  to  prosecute. 
Attorney  General  of  all  such  cases  of  neglect  or  refusal, 
whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  proceed  at  once  to  judicially 
enforce  the  forfeitures  hereinbefore  provided. 

Sec.  7.  That  nothing  in  this  Act  shall  be  construed  to  g^flf^] 
affect  or  impair  the  right  of  Congress,  at  any  time  here-  If™6'  or  re" 
after,  to  alter,  amend,  or  repeal  the  said  acts  hereinbefore 
mentioned;  and  this  Act  shall  be  subject  to  alteration, 
amendment,  or  repeal  as,  in  the  opinion  of  Congress 
justice  or  the  public  welfare  may  require;  and  nothing aff&iSe^- 
herein  contained  shall  be  held  to  deny,  exclude,  or  impair  fjv^     p  r  e" 
any  right  or  remedy  in  the  premises  now  existing  in  the 
United   States,  or   any   authority  that  the   Postmaster 
General  now  has  under  title  sixty-five  of  the  Kevised 
Statutes  to  fix  rates,  or,  of  the  Government,  to  purchase 
lines  as  provided  under  said  title,  or  to  have  its  messages 
given  precedence  in  transmission. 

Public,  No.  237,  approved  August  7,  1888. 


LAKE  ERIE  AND  OHIO  RIVER  SHIP  CANAL. 

AN  ACT  To  incorporate  the  Lake  Erie  and  Ohio  River  Ship  Canal, 
to  define  the  powers  thereof,  and  to  facilitate  interstate  com- 
merce. 

*  *  *  *  * 

Sec.  17.  That  the  said  canals  shall  be  open  to  the  use 
and  navigation  of  all  suitable  and  proper  vessels  or  other 
water  craft,  by  whomsoever  owned  or  operated,  upon  fair 
and  equal  terms,  conditions,  rates,  tolls,  and  charges; 
and  the  said  company  may  demand,  take,  and  recover 
for  its  own  proper  use,  for  all  persons  and  things  of 
whatsoever  description  transported  upon  the  said  canals, 
feeders,  and  other  works,  or  in  vessels  and  craft  using 
the  same,  just  and  reasonable  charges,  rates,  and  tolls; 
but  all  such  charges,  rates,  and  tolls  shall  be  equal  to  all  tecJe*r^awe.U 
persons,  vessels,  and  goods  under  certain  classifications 
to  be  established  by  the  company  and  approved  by  the 
Interstate  Commerce  Commission;  and  no  rebate,  reduc-  apJ"^e8dt0by 
tion,  drawback,  or  discrimination  of  any  sort  on  such  commission. 
charges,  rates,  and  toUs  shaU  ever  be  made  directly  or 
indirectly.    And  the  said  charges,  rates,  and  tolls  for  the  0f ^chediuiesQn 
ensuing  year  shall  be  fixed,  published,  and  posted  on  or 
in  every  place  where  they  are  to  be  collected,  on  or  before 


78  PARCEL  POST. 

the  fifteenth  day  of  February  of  each  year,  and  shall  not 
be  changed  except  after  thirty  days'  public  notice,  which 
notice  shall  plainly  state  the  changes  proposed  to  be  made 
in  the  charges,  rates,  and  tolls  then  in  force  and  the  time 
when  the  changed  charges,  rates,  and  tolls  will  go  into 
effect ;  and  the  proposed  changes  shall  be  shown  by  print- 
ing new  schedules  or  shall  be  plainly  indicated  upon  the 
schedules  in  force  at  the  time  and  kept  open  to  public 
ina>°modify 'i°°  msPec^i°n :  Provided,  That  the  Interstate  Commerce 
qunements.  Commission  may,  in  its  discretion  and  for  good  cause 
shown,  allow  changes  upon  less  notice  than  herein  speci- 
fied or  modify  the  foregoing  requirements  in  respect  to 
publishing  and  posting  of  such  schedules,  either  in  par- 
ticular instances  or  by  a  general  order  applicable  to  spe- 
cial or  peculiar  circumstances  or  conditions. 

*  *  *  *  * 

Public,  No.  402,  approved  June  30,  1906. 


PARCEL  POST, 


AN  ACT  Making  appropriations  for  the  service  of  the  Post  Office 
Department  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  thirtieth,  nineteen 
hundred  and  thirteen,  and  for  other  purposes. 

Sec.  8.   (Parcel  Post.) 

*  *  *  *  * 

tiiCc0ncommi°sf  ^he  classification  of  articles  mailable  as  well  as  the 
rnf'"ones!aetc.!  we,'gnt  limit,  the  rates  of  postage,  zone  or  zones  and  other 
in  parcel  post,  conditions  of  mailability  under  this  Act,  if  the  Postmas- 
ter General  shall  find  on  experience  that  they  or  any  of 
them  are  such  as  to  prevent  the  shipment  of  articles  de- 
sirable, or  to  permanently  render  the  cost  of  the  service 
greater  than  the  receipts  of  the  revenue  therefrom,  he  is 
hereby  authorized,  subject  to  the  consent  of  the  Inter- 
state Commerce  Commission  after  investigation,  to  re- 
form from  time  to  time  such  classification,  weight  limit, 
rates,  zone  or  zones  or  conditions,  or  either,  in  order  to 
promote  the  service  to  the  public  or  to  insure  the  receipt 
of  revenue  from  such  service  adequate  to  pay  the  cost 
thereof. 

*  *  *  *  * 

Public,  No.  336,  approved  August  24,  1912. 


SAFETY  APPLIANCE  ACTS. 


AN  ACT  To  promote  the  safety  of  employees  and  travelers  upon 
railroads  by  compelling  common  carriers  engaged  in  interstate 
commerce  to  equip  their  cars  with  automatic  couplers  and  con- 
tinuous brakes  and  their  locomotives  with  driving-wheel  brakes, 
and  for  other  purposes. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assem- 
bled, That  from  and  after  the  first  day  of  January,  Driving- 
eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-eight,  it  shall  be  unlawful  brakes*1" 
for  any  common  carrier  engaged  in  interstate  commerce 
by  railroad  to  use  on  its  line  any  locomotive  engine  in 
moving  interstate  traffic  not  equipped  with  a  power  driv- 
ing-wheel brake  and  appliances  for  operating  the  train- 
brake  system,  or  to  run  any  train  in  such  traffic  after  said 
date  that  has  not  a  sufficient  number  of  cars  in  it  so 
equipped  with  power  or  train  brakes  that  the  engineer  on 
the  locomotive  drawing  such  train  can  control  its  speed 
without  requiring  brakemen  to  use  the  common  hand 
brake  for  that  purpose. 

Sec.  2.  That  on  and  after  the  first  day  of  January,  Automatic 
eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-eight,  it  shall  be  unlawful 
for  any  such  common  carrier  to  haul  or  permit  to  be 
hauled  or  used  on  its  line  any  car  used  in  moving  inter- 
state traffic  not  equipped  with  couplers  coupling  auto- 
matically by  impact,  and  which  can  be  uncoupled  without 
the  necessity  of  men  going  between  the  ends  of  the  cars. 

Sec.  3.  That  when  any  person,  firm,  company,  or  cor-     when  carri- 
poration  engaged  in  interstate  commerce  by  railroad  shall  fuiiy  "refuse  to 

,  .  -,  _m-i  i  .e-i.  a  receive     cars 

have  equipped  a  sufficient  number  ot  its  cars  so  as  to  com-  fr0m  connect- 
ply  with  the  provisions  of  section  one  of  this  Act,  it  may  shippers.6 
lawfully  refuse  to  receive  from  connecting  lines  of  road 
or  shippers  any  cars  not  equipped  sufficiently,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  first  section  of  this  Act,  with  such  power  or 
train  brakes  as  will  work  and  readily  interchange  with 
the  brakes  in  use  on  its  own  cars,  as  required  by  this  Act. 

Sec.  4.  That  from  and  after  the  first  day  of  July,     Grab  irons 
eighteen  hundred  and  ninety -five,  until  otherwise  ordered  ai 

79 


r 
80  SAFETY  APPLIANCE  ACTS. 

by  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  it  shall  be  un- 
lawful for  any  railroad  company  to  use  any  car  in  inter- 
state commerce  that  is  not  provided  with  secure  grab 
irons  or  handholds  in  the  ends  and  sides  of  each  car  for 
greater  security  to  men  in  coupling  and  uncoupling  cars, 
v  -Swa?^ard      Sec.  5.  That  within  ninety  days  from  the  passage  of 

height  of  draw-        #  r  & 

bars  forfreight  this  Act  the  American  Railway  Association  is  authorized 

cars. 

hereby  to  designate  to  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commis- 
sion the  standard  height  of  drawbars  for  freight  car?, 
measured  perpendicular  from  the  level  of  the  tops  of  the 
rails  to  the  centers  of  the  drawbars,  for  each  of  the  sev- 
eral gauges  of  railroads  in  use  in  the  United  States,  and 
shall  fix  a  maximum  variation  from  such  standard  height 
to  be  allowed  between  the  drawbars  of  empty  and  loaded 
cars.  Upon  their  determination  being  certified  to  the 
Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  said  Commission  shall 
at  once  give  notice  of  the  standard  fixed  upon  to  all  com- 
mon carriers,  owners,  or  lessees  engaged  in  interstate 
commerce  in  the  United  States  by  such  means  as  the 
Commission  may  deem  proper.  But  should  said  associa- 
tion fail  to  determine  a  standard  as  above  provided,  it 
shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission 
to  do  so.  before  July  first,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety- 
four,  and  immediately  to  give  notice  thereof  as  aforesaid. 
And  after  July  first,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-five,  no 
cars,  either  loaded  or  unloaded,  shall  be  used  in  inter- 
state traffic  which  do  not  comply  with  the  standard  above 
provided  for. 
Penalty.  Sec.  6.   (As  amended  April  1,  1896.)     That  any  such 

common  carrier  using  any  locomotive  engine,  running 
any  train,  or  hauling  or  permitting  to  be  hauled  or  used 
on  its  line  any  car  in  violation  of  any  of  the  provisions  of 
this  Act.  shall  be  liable  to  a  penalty  of  one  hundred  dol- 
lars for  each  and  every  such  violation,  to  be  recovered  in 
a  suit  or  suits  to  be  brought  by  the  United  States  district 
attorney  in  the  district  court  of  the  United  States  having 
jurisdiction  in  the  locality  where  such  violation  shall 
have  been  committed:  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  such 
district  attorney  to  bring  such  suits  upon  duly  verified 
information  being  lodged  with  him  of  such  violation 
having  occurred;  and  it  shall  also  be  the  duty  of  the 
Interstate  Commerce  Commission  to  lodge  with  the 
proper  district  attorneys  information  of  any  such  viola- 
te Xactptions t0  ti°ns  as  maT  come  to  its  knowledge :  Provided,  That  noth- 
ing in  this  Act  contained  shall  apply  to  trains  composed 
of  four-wheel  cars  or  to  trains  composed  of  eight-wheel 


SAFETY  APPLIANCE  ACTS.  81 

standard  logging  cars  where  the  height  of  such  car  from 
top  of  rail  to  center  of  coupling  does  not  exceed  twenty- 
five  inches,  or  to  locomotives  used  in  hauling  such  trains 
when  such  cars  or  locomotives  are  exclusively  used  for  the 
transportation  of  logs. 

Sec.  7.  That  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  may    power  of  in- 

t"^rst"3tf*      Com* 

from  time  to  time  upon  full  hearing  and  for  good  cause  merce  commis- 
extend  the  period  within  which  any  common  carrier  shall  time  of  cani- 
comply  with  the  provisions  of  this  Act.  with  this  act. 

Sec.  8.  That  any  employee  of  any  such  common  carrier  ^Em ^pjoyees 
who  may  be  injured  by  any  locomotive:  car,  or  train  in  ^^rjsk  of 
use  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  this  Act  shall  not  be 
deemed  thereby  to  have  assumed  the  risk  thereby  occa- 
sioned, although  continuing  in  the  employment  of  such 
carrier  after  the  unlawful  use  of  such  locomotive,  car,  or 
train  had  been  brought  to  his  knowledge. 

Public,  No.  113,  approved  March  2,  1893,  amended 
April  1,  1896. 

Xote.— Prescribed  standard  height  of  drawbars :  Standard-gauge 
railroads:  maximum  34 J,  minimum  31  J,  inches;  narrow-gauge 
railroads:  maximum  26,  minimum  23.  inches;  2-foot-gauge  rail- 
roads :  maximum  l~i,  minimum  14*,  inches. 


AN  ACT  To  amend  an  Act  entitled  "An  Act  to  promote  the  safety 
of  employees  and  travelers  upon  railroads  by  compelling  com- 
mon carriers  engaged  in  interstate  commerce  to  equip  their  cars 
with  automatic  couplers  and  continuous  brakes  and  their  loco- 
motives with  driving-wheel  brakes,  and  for  other  purposes,"  ap- 
proved March  second,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-three,  and 
amended  April  first,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-six. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  as- 
sembled, That  the  provisions  and  requirements  of  the  Act  a  safety  appjjj 
entitled  "An  Act  to  promote  the  safety  of  employees  and  ^m£ndif9§ 
travelers  upon  railroads  by  compelling  common  carriers  a ^^^J: 
engaged  in  interstate  commerce  to  equip  their  cars  with  r>iy.  'in  Jerri- 

S     ©  101 1£S   SDQ    JJ1S~ 

automatic  couplers  and  continuous  brakes,  and  their  loco-  gtet  of  coium- 
motives  with  driving-wheel  brakes,  and  for  other  pur-    Provisions  of 

°  *  •*■  safety    appli- 

poses,"  approved  March  second,  eighteen  hundred  and  ^e^s  ^to 
mnetv-three,  and  amended  April  first,  eighteen  hundredappiy  m  an 

~         J  A  .cases     when 

and  ninety-six,  shall  be  held  to  apply  to  common  earners  couplers  are 

•         •  -Ti        t-w-        -j        »   n      brought     to- 

by railroads  in  the  Territories  and  the  District  ol  Co-  gether. 

lumbia  and  shall  apply  in  all  cases,  whether  or  not  the 

couplers  brought  together  are  of  the  same  kind,  make,  or 

type ;  and  the  provisions  and  requirements  hereof  and  of 

66170°— 14 6 


d 


82  SAFETY  APPLIANCE  ACTS. 

nncefactsasPhPaii sa^  Acts  relating  to  train  brakes,  automatic  couplers, 
a  uioment'  o"^3^  irons5  and  the  height  of  drawbars  shall  be  held  to 
any  ^d^fn^PP^  *°  a^  trains,  locomotives,  tenders,  cars,  and  similar 
testate  c  o  m  -  vehicles  used  on  any  railroad  engaged  in  interstate  com- 
merce, and  in  the  Territories  and  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, and  to  all  other  locomotives,  tenders,  cars,  and  similar 
Exceptions,    vehicles  used  in  connection  therewith,  excepting  those 
trains,  cars,  and  locomotives  exempted  by  the  provisions 
of  section  six  of  said  Act  of  March  second,  eighteen  hun- 
dred and  ninety-three,  as  amended  by  the  Act  of  April 
first,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-six,  or  which  are  use 
upon  street  railways. 
Power  brakes.     Sec.  2.  That  whenever,  as  provided  in  said  Act,  any 
train  is  operated  with  power  or  train  brakes,  not  less  than 
fifty  per  centum  of  the  cars  in  such  train  shall  have  their 
brakes  used  and  operated  by  the  engineer  of  the  locomo- 
tive drawing  such  train;  and  all  power-braked  cars  in 
such  train  which  are  associated  together  with  said  fiftv 
per  centum  shall  have  their  brakes  so  used  and  operated ; 
and,  to  more  fully  carry  into  effect  the  objects  of  said  Act, 
Commission  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  may,  from  time  to 

may    increase  ,,,,,,  .  ,,  .    . 

minimum  per-  time,  after  lull  hearing,  increase  the  minimum  percentage 
power  or  train  of  cars  in  any  train  required  to  be  operated  with  power  or 
be  used.  train  brakes  which  must  have  their  brakes  used  and  oper- 

ated as  aforesaid;  and  failure  to  comply  with  any  such 
requirement  of  the  said  Interstate  Commerce  Commission 
Penalty.        shall  be  subject  to  the  like  penalty  as  failure  to  comply 
with  any  requirement  of  this  section. 

Sec.  3.  That  the  provisions  of  this  Act  shall  not  take 
effect  until  September  first,  nineteen  hundred  and  three. 
Nothing  in  this  Act  shall  be  held  or  construed  to  relieve 
Provisions,  any  common  carrier,  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commis- 
re^ufiements;  si°n5  or  any  United  States  district  attorney  from  any  of 
!peeifiedbinact the  provisions,  powers,  duties,  liabilities,  or  requirements 
jmdact  of  "Apr! or*  sa^  Act  of  March  second,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety - 
to  thfs6actPply  three,  as  amended  by  theAct  of  April  first,  eighteen  hun- 
dred and  ninety-six;  and  all  of  the  provisions,  powers, 
duties,  requirements,  and  liabilities  of  said  Act  of  March 
second,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-three,  as  amended  by 
the  Act  of  April  first,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-six, 
shall,  except  as  specifically  amended  by  this  Act,  apply  to 
this  Act. 

Public,  No.  133,  approved  March  2,  1903. 


SAFETY  APPLIANCE  ACTS.  83 

AN  ACT  To  supplement  "An  Act  to  promote  the  safety  of  em- 
ployees and  travelers  upon  railroads  by  c6nipelling  common  car- 
riers engaged  in  interstate  commerce  to  equip  their  cars  with 
automatic  couplers  and  continuous  brakes  and  their  locomotives 
with  driving  wheel  brakes  and  for  other  purposes,"  and  other 
safety  appliance  Acts,  and  for  other  purposes. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Represen- 
tatives of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  as- 
sembled, That  the  provisions  of  this  Act  shall  apply  to    To  what  car- 

•  i  i  •  i        i  •    i.  I     j-i    r !  e  r  s  aPPllca- 

every  common  carrier  and  every  vehicle  subject  to  tnebie. 

Act  of  March  second,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-three, 
as  amended  April  first,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-six, 
and  March  second,  nineteen  hundred  and  three,  commonly 
known  as  the  "  Safety  Appliance  Acts." 

Sec.  2.  That  on  and  after  July  first,  nineteen  hundred 
and  eleven,  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  common  carrier 
subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  Act  to  haul,  or  permit  to 
be  hauled  or  used  on  its  line  any  car  subject  to  the  pro- 
visions of  this  Act  not  equipped  with  appliances  provided 
for  in  this  Act,  to  wit:  All  cars  must  be  equipped  with     cars   to   be 

„    .  ill  n  equipped    with 

secure  sill  steps  and  efficient  hand  brakes;  all  cars  re-  sin  steps  hand 
quiring  secure  ladders  and  secure  running  boards  shall  r  u  n'n  i  n  g 

bo  3.  rd  S         D.DQ 

be  equipped  with  such  ladders  and  running  boards,  and  grab  irons. 
all  cars  having  ladders  shall  also  be  equipped  with  secure 
hand  holds  or  grab  irons  on  their  roofs  at  the  tops  of  such 
ladders:  Provided,  That  in  the  loading  and  hauling  of 
long  commodities,  requiring  more  than  one  car,  the  hand 
brakes  may  be  omitted  on  all  save  one  of  the  cars  while 
they  are  thus  combined  for  such  purpose. 

Sec.  3.  That  within  six  months  from  the  passage  of  this  ^"fg1^ 
Act  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  after  hearing, ^pm^^^en- 
shall   designate  the  number,   dimensions,  location,   and  *jju™lat^r  °f 
manner  of  application  of  the  appliances  provided  for  by  appliances, 
section  two  of  this  Act  and  section  four  of  the  Act  of 
March  second,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-three,  and 
shall  give  notice  of  such  designation  to  all  common  car- 
riers subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  Act  by  such  means 
as  the  Commission  may  deem  proper,  and  thereafter  said 
number,  location,  dimensions,  and  manner  of  application 
as  designated  by  said  Commission  shall  remain  as  the 
standards  of  equipment  to  be  used  on  all  cars  subject  to 
the  provisions  of  this  Act,  unless  changed  by  an  order  of 
said  Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  to  be  made  after 
full  hearing  and  for  good  cause  shown;  and  failure  to 
comply  with  any  such  requirement  of  the  Interstate  Com- 


84  SAFETY  APPLIANCE  ACTS. 

merce  Commission  shall  be  subject  to  a  like  penalty  as 
Period  of  failure  to  comply  with  any  requirement  of  this  Act:  Pro- 
may  be  ex-vided,  That  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  may, 
upon  full  hearing  and  for  good  cause,  extend  the  period 
within  which  any  common  carrier  shall  comply  with  the 
provisions  of  this  section  with  respect  to  the  equipment 
of  cars  actually  in  service  upon  the  date  of  the  passage 
ma^°  m™ a! f*y  °^  thiS  ^c^    Said  Commission  is  hereby  given  authority, 
ballhtof  draw"  after  hearing,  to  modify  or  change,  and  to  prescribe  the 
standard  height  of  drawbars  and  to  fix  the  time  within 
which  such  modification  or  change  shall  become  effective 
and  obligatory,  and  prior  to  the  time  so  fixed  it  shall  be 
r  r  e  sen  t  unlawful  to  use  any  car  or  vehicle  in  interstate  or  foreign 

standard 

height  of  draw-  traffic  which  does  not  comply  with  the  standard  now  fixed 
or  the  standard  so  prescribed,  and  after  the  time  so  fixed 
it  shall  be  unlawful  to  use  any  car  or  vehicle  in  interstate 
or  foreign  traffic  which  does  not  comply  with  the  standard 
so  prescribed  by  the  Commission. 

violation  fof     Sec.  4.  That  any  common  carrier  subject  to  this  Act 

thisVAc<°ns  °f  using*  hauling,  or  permitting  to  be  used  or  hauled  on  its 
line  any  car  subject  to  the  requirements  of  this  Act  not 
equipped  as  provided  in  this  Act  shall  be  liable  to  a 
penalty  of  one  hundred  dollars  for  each  and  every  such 
violation,  to  be  recovered  as  provided  in  section  six  of  the 
Act  of  March  second,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-three, 
as  amended  April  first,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-six : 
Provided,  That  where  any  car  shall  have  been  properly 
equipped,  as  provided  in  this  Act  and  the  other  Acts 
mentioned  herein,  and  such  equipment  shall  have  become 
Defective  cars  defective  or  insecure  while  such  car  was  being  used  by 

to     nearest  such  carrier  upon  its  line  of  railroad,  such  car  may  be 

available     re- .        ,     ,    „  x  .  n  .  «  -.. 

pair  point.  hauled  from  the  place  where  such  equipment  was  first  dis- 
covered to  be  defective  or  insecure  to  the  nearest  available 
point  where  such  car  can  be  repaired,  without  liability  for 
the  penalties  imposed  by  section  four  of  this  Act  or  sec- 
tion six  of  the  Act  of  March  second,  eighteen  hundred 
and  ninety-three,  as  amended  by  the  Act  of  April  first, 
eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-six,  if  such  movement  is 
necessary  to  make  such  repairs  and  such  repairs  can  not 
be  made  except  at  such  repair  point;  and  such  movement 
carriers  not  or  hauling  of  such  car  shall  be  at  the  sole  risk  of  the  car- 

relieved   from.  -i  1  •  • 

liability  for  rier,  and  nothing  in  this  section  shall  be  construed  to  re- 
lieve such  carrier  from  liability  in  any  remedial  action 
for  the  death  or  injury  of  any  railroad  employee  caused 
to  such  employee  by  reason  of  or  in  connection  with  the 


SAFETY  APPLIANCE  ACTS.  85 

movement  or  hauling  of  such  car  with  equipment  which 
is  defective  or  insecure  or  which  is  not  maintained  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  requirements  of  this  Act  and  the  other 
Acts  herein  referred  to;  and  nothing  in  this  proviso  shall  Chiin".ling  by 
be  construed  to  permit  the  hauling  of  defective  cars  by 
means  of  chains  instead  of  drawbars,  in  revenue  trains  or 
in  association  with  other  cars  that  are  commercially  used, 
unless  such  defective  cars  contain  live  stock  or  "  per- 
ishable "  freight. 

Sec.  5.  That  except  that,  within  the  limits  specified  in  relfea/erdierf8r  °^ 
the  preceding  section  of  this  Act,  the  movement  of  a  car  j?^?1^-/* c*£l 
with  defective  or  insecure  equipment  may  be  made  with-above  named- 
out  incurring  the  penalty  provided  by  the  statutes,  but 
shall  in  all  other  respects  be  unlawful,  nothing  in  this  Act 
shall  be  held  or  construed  to  relieve  any  common  carrier, 
the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  or  any  United 
States  attorney  from  any  of  the  provisions,  powers,  duties, 
liabilities,  or  requirements  of  said  Act  of  March  second, 
eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-three,  as  amended  by  the 
Acts  of  April  first,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-six.  and 
March  second,  nineteen  hundred  and  three;  and,  except 
as  aforesaid,  all  of  the  provisions,  powers,  duties,  require- 
ments, and  liabilities  of  said  Act  of  March  second,  eight- 
een hundred  and  ninety-three,  as  amended  by  the.  Acts  of 
April  first,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-six,  and  March 
second,  nineteen  hundred  and  three,  shall  apply  to  this 
Act. 

Sec.  6.  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Interstate  Com-    Enforcement. 
merce  Commission  to  enforce  the  provisions  of  this  Act, 
and  all  powers  heretofore  granted  to  said  Commission  are 
hereby  extended  to  it  for  the  purpose  of  the  enforcement 
of  this  Act. 

That  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Com-  m^°^lllioe?: 
mission  to  extend  the  period  within  which  any  common  supplementary 
carrier  shall  comply  with  the  provisions  of  section  three  Act 
of  the  Act  entitled  "An  Act  to  supplement  'An  Act  to 
promote  the  safety  of  employees  and  travelers  upon  rail- 
roads by  compelling  common  carriers  engaged  in  inter- 
state commerce  to  equip  their  cars  with  automatic  cou-    Act  of  March 
piers  and  continuous  brakes  and  their  locomotives  with4-  1911- 
driving-wheel  brakes,  and  for  other  purposes,'  and  other 
safety-appliance  acts,  and  for  other  purposes,"  approved 
April  fourteenth,  nineteen  hundred  and  ten,  shall  apply 
to  cars  actually  placed  in  service  between  the  date  of  the 
passage  of  said  Act  and  the  first  day  of  July,  nineteen 


86  ACCIDENT   REPORTS   ACT. 

hundred  and  eleven,  in  the  same  manner  and  to  the  same 
extent  that  it  applies  to  cars  actually  in  service  upon  the 
date  of  the  passage  of  said  Act.     [36  Stat.  L.,  1397.] 

Public,  No.  133,  approved  April  14,  1910;  Public,  No. 
525,  approved  March  4,  1911. 


ofSXf  Sundry  civil  act  (appropriations)  of  June  28,  1902, 
authorizes  Commission  to  employ  "  inspectors  to  execute 
and  enforce  the  requirements  of  the  safety-appliance  act." 


port 


ACCIDENT  REPORTS  ACT. 

AN  ACT  Requiring  common  carriers  engaged  in  interstate  and 
foreign  commerce  to  make  full  reports  of  all  accidents  to  the 
Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  and  authorizing  investiga- 
tions thereof  by  said  Commission. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assem- 
bled, That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  general  manager, 
superintendent,  or  other  proper  officer  of  every  common 
carrier  engaged  in  interstate  or  foreign  commerce  by  rail- 
road to  make  to  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  at 
rtts°noflyrait  **s  °^ce  i*1  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  a  monthly 
way  accidents,  report,  under  oath,  of  all  collisions,  derailments,  or  other 
accidents  resulting  in  injury  to  persons,  equipment,  or 
roadbed  arising  from  the  operation  of  such  railroad  un- 
der such  rules  and  regulations  as  may  be  prescribed  by 
the  said  Commission,  which  report  shall  state  the  nature 
and  causes  thereof  and  the  circumstances  connected  there- 
with: Provided,  That  hereafter  all  said  carriers  shall  be 
relieved  from  the  duty  of  reporting  accidents  in  their  an- 
nual financial  and  operating  reports  made  to  the  Com- 
mission. 
Failure  to     SEC,  2.  That  any  common  carrier  failing  to  make  such 

make     report  ... 

within  thirty  report  within  thirty  days  after  the  end  of  any  month 

days  after  end       x  .  . 

of  any  month  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  upon  con- 

a  misdemeanor.     ..  i  i>  ..,.. 

viction  thereof  by  a  court  or  competent  jurisdiction  shall 
Penalty.  be  punished  by  a  fine  of  not  more  than  one  hundred  dol- 
lars for  each  and  every  offense  and  for  every  day  during 
which  it  shall  fail  to  make  such  report  after  the  time 
herein  specified  for  making  the  same. 
Power  of  the     Sec.   3.  That   the   Interstate   Commerce    Commission, 

Commission   to  . 

investigate  ac-  shall  have  authority  to  investigate  all  collisions,  derail- 
ments. J  p.       .  .         .  ' . 

ments,  or  other  accidents  resulting  in  serious  injury  to 


ACCIDENT    REPORTS   ACT.  87 

person  or  to  the  property  of  a  railroad  occurring  on  the 
line  of  any  common  carrier  engaged  in  interstate  or  for- 
eign commerce  by  railroad.  The  Commission,  or  any 
impartial  investigator  thereunto  authorized  by  said  Com- 
mission, shall  have  authority  to  investigate  such  colli- 
sions, derailments,  or  other  accidents  aforesaid,  and  all 
the  attending  facts:  conditions,  and  circumstances,  and 
for  that  purpose  may  subpoena  witnesses,  administer 
oaths,  take  testimony,  and  require  the  production  of  Testimony, 
books,  papers,  orders,  memoranda,  exhibits,  and  other 
evidence,  and  shall  be  provided  by  said  carriers  with  all 
reasonable  facilities:  Provided.  That  when  such  accident    cooperation 

.      .  -  0  .  .  with  state  coni- 

is  investigated  by  a  commission  of  the  State  in  which  it  missions. 
occurred,  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  shall,  if 
convenient,  make  any  investigation  it  may  have  previ- 
ously determined  upon,  at  the  same  time  as,  and  in  con- 
nection with,  the  state  commission  investigation.     Said    Reports  of  in- 
Commission  shall,  when  it  deems  it  to  the  public  inter- v' 
est,  make  reports  of  such  investigations,  stating  the  cause 
of  accident,  together  with  such  recommendations  as  'it 
deems  proper.    Such  reports  shall  be  made  public  in  such 
manner  as  the  Commission  deems  proper. 

Sec.  4.  That  neither  said  report  nor  any  report  of  saidtoRbeepo^|dn?* 
investigation  nor  any  part  thereof  shall  be  admitted  asdamase  suits- 
evidence  or  used  for  any  purpose  in  any  suit  or  action 
for  damages  growing  out  of  any  matter  mentioned  in 
said  report  or  investigation. 

Sec.  5.  That  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  is     Form  of  re- 
authorized   to   prescribe    for    such    common    carriers   a 
method  and  form  for  making  the  reports  hereinbefore 
provided. 

Sec  6.  That  the  Act  entitled  "An  Act  requiring  com-     Repeal  of 
mon  carriers  engaged  in  interstate  commerce  to  make  full pr 
reports  of  all  accidents  to  the  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mission," approved  March  third,  nineteen  hundred  and 
one,  is  hereby  repealed. 

Sec.  7.  That  the  term  "interstate  commerce,"  as  used    "interstate 
in  this  Act,  shall  include  transportation  from  any  State  "  foreign  com- 
or  Territory  or  the  District  of  Columbia  to  any  other  fined. 
State  or  Territory  or  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  the 
term  "  foreign  commerce,"  as  used  in  this  Act,  shall  in- 
clude transportation  from  any  State  or  Territory  or  the 
District  of  Columbia  to  any  foreign  country  and  from 
any  foreign  country  to  any  State  or  Territory  or  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia. 


£8  MEDALS    OF    HONOK   ACT. 

when  Act  ef-      gEC>  g.  That  this  Act  shall  take  effect  sixty  days  after 
its  passage. 

Public,  No.  165,  approved  May  6,  1910. 


MEDALS  OF  HONOR  ACT. 

AN  ACT  To  promote  the  security  of  travel  upon  railroads  engaged 
in  interstate  commerce,  and  to  encourage  the  saving  of  life. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assem- 
Life  -  saving  bled,  That  the  President  of  the  United  States  be,  and 
Med  a'l  s  of  he  is  hereby,  authorized  to  cause  to  be  prepared  bronze 
medals  of  honor,  with  suitable  emblematic  devices,  which 
shall  be  bestowed  upon  any  persons  who  shall  hereafter, 
by  extreme  daring,  endanger  their  own  lives  in  saving,  or 
endeavoring  to  save,  lives  from  any  "wreck,  disaster,  or 
grave  accident,  or  in  preventing  or  endeavoring  to  pre- 
vent such  wreck,  disaster,  or  grave  accident,  upon  any 
railroad  within  the  United  States  engaged  in  interstate 
Proviso.        commerce:  Provided,  That  no  award  of  said  medal  shall 

"Proof  * 

be  made  to  any  person  until  sufficient  evidence  of  his  de- 
serving shall  have  been  furnished  and  placed  on  file, 
under  such  regulations  as  may  be  prescribed  by  the 
President  of  the  United  States. 

Sec.  2.  That  the  President  of  the  United  States  be,  and 

he  is  hereby,  authorized  to  issue  to  any  person  to  whom  a 

Rosettes  and  medal  of  honor  may  be  awarded  under  the  provisions  of 

ribbons.  ^jg  j^ci  a  rosette  or  knot,  to  be  worn  in  lieu  of  the  medal, 

and  a  ribbon  to  be  worn  with  the  medal ;  said  rosette  or 

knot  and  ribbon  to  be  each  of  a  pattern  to  be  prescribed 

Proviso.        by  the  President  of  the  United  States:  Provided,  That 

Issue  of  ne\7 

ribbons.  whenever  a  ribbon  issued  under  the  provisions  of  this  Act 

shall  have  been  lost,  destroyed,  or  rendered  unfit  for  use 
without  fault  or  neglect  on  the  part  of  the  person  to  whom 
it  was  issued,  a  new  ribbon  shall  be  issued  to  such  person 
without  charge  therefor. 
Payment  of      gEC.  3.  That  the  appropriations  for  the  enforcement 

expenses.  .  rr      *   . 

and  execution  of  the  provisions  of  the  Acts  to  promote 
the  safety  of  employees  and  travelers  upon  railroads  are 
hereby  made  available  for  carrying  out  the  provisions  of 
.    this  Act. 

Public,  No.  98,  approved  February  23,  1905. 


MEDALS    OF    HONOR    ACT.  89 

REGULATIONS  Governing  the  award  of  life-saving  medals  under 
the  foregoing  Act.  Made  by  the  President  of  the  United  States 
on  March  29,  1905,  and  amended  April  22,  1913. 

1.  Applications  for  medals  under  this  Act  should  be  ^^pJ^"^ 
addressed  to  and  filed  with  the  Interstate  Commerce made- 
Commission,  at  the  city  of  Washington,  D.  C.    Satisfac- 
tory evidence  of  the  facts  upon  which  the  application  is 

based  must  be  filed  in  each  case.  This  evidence  should 
be  in  the  form  of  affidavits  made  by  eyewitnesses,  of 
good  repute  and  standing,  testifying  of  their  own  knowl- 
edge. The  opinion  of  witnesses  that  the  person  for  whom 
an  award  is  sought  acted  with  extreme  daring  and  en- 
dangered his  life  is  not  sufficient,  but  the  affidavits  must 
set  forth  the  facts  in  detail,-  and  show  clearly  in  what 
manner  and  to  what  extent  life  was  endangered  and 
extreme  daring  exhibited.  The  railroad  upon  which  the 
incident  occurred,  the  date,  time  of  day,  condition  of  the 
weather,  the  names  of  all  persons  present  when  prac- 
ticable, and  other  pertinent  circumstances  should  be 
stated.     The  affidavits  should  be  made  before  an  officer    JP°nt.eJlts   of 

affidavits. 

duly  authorized  to  administer  oaths  and  be  accompanied 
by  the  certificate  of  some  United  States  official  of  the 
district  in  which- the  affiants  reside,  such  as  a  judge  or 
clerk  of  United  States  court,  district  attorney,  or  post- 
master, to  the  effect  that  the  affiants  are  reputable  and 
creditable  persons.  If  the  affidavits  are  taken  before  an 
officer  without  an  official  seal,  his  official  character  must 
be  certified  by  the  proper  officer  of  a  court  of  record 
under  the  seal  thereof. 

2.  Applications  for  medals,  together  with  all  affidavits  consider1  appi£ 
and  other  evidence  received  in  connection  therewith,  shall 

be  referred  to  a  committee  of  three  persons,  consisting  of 
the  secretary  of  the  Commission,  the  chief  inspector  of 
safety  appliances,  and  the  assistant  chief  inspector  of 
safety  appliances.  This  committee  shall  carefully  con- 
sider each  application  presented,  and  after  thoroughly 
weighing  the  evidence,  shall  prepare  an  abstract  or  brief 
covering  the  case,  and  file  the  same,  together  with  the 
committee's  recommendation,  with  the  Commission,  which 
brief  and  recommendation  shall  be  transmitted  by  the  miuee. 
Commission  to  the  President  for  his  approval.  The  com- 
mittee may,  with  the  approval  of  the  Commission,  direct 
any  inspector  in  the  employ  of  the  Commission  to  pro- 


Brief  of  com- 


90  HOURS    OF    SERVICE    ACT. 

ve^igatfons in* cee(^  to  tne  locality  where  the  service  was  performed  for 
which  a  medal  is  claimed,  and  make  a  personal  investi- 
gation and  report  upon  the  facts  of  the  case,  which  re- 
port shall  be  filed  and  made  a  part  of  the  evidence  con- 
sidered by  the  committee, 
appr  o^aTof     %-  Upon  final  approval  of  the  committee's  recommenda- 
tion0mmenda  ti°n  DV  the  President  the  Commission  shall  take  such 
measures  to  carry  the  recommendation  into  effect  as  the 
M    President  may  direct. 

Designs    for  ■*     .     . 

medals.  4.  The  Commission  shall  cause  designs  to  be  prepared 

for  the  medal,  rosette,  and  ribbon  provided  for  by  the 
Act,  which  designs  shall  be  submitted  to  the  President  for 
his  approval. 


HOURS  OF  SERVICE  ACT. 

AN  ACT  To  promote  the  safety  of  employees  and  travelers  upon 
railroads  by  limiting  the  hours  of  service  of  employees  thereon. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assem- 
rier  and  em  bled,  That  the  provisions  of  this  Act  shall  apply  to  any 

dIovggs  subicct  • 

to  Act.  '  common  carrier  or  carriers,  their  officers,  agents,  and  em- 
ployees, engaged  in  the  transportation  of  passengers  or 
property  by  railroad  in  the  District  of  Columbia  or  any 
Territory  of  the  United  States,  or  from  one  State  or 
Territory  of  the  United  States  or  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia to  any  other  State  or  Territory  of  the  United  States 
or  the  District  of  Columbia,  or  from  any  place  in  the 
United  States  to  an  adjacent  foreign  country,  or  from 
any  place  in  the  United  States  through  a  foreign  country 

Meaning  of  tQ  any  other  place  in  the  United  States.     The  term  "  rail- 
term    "rail-  J  r 

road."  road  "  as  used  in  this  Act  shall  include  all  bridges  and 

ferries  used  or  operated  in  connection  with  any  railroad, 
and  also  all  the  road  in  use  by  any  common  carrier  op- 
erating a  railroad,  whether  owned  or  operated  under  a 
Meaning  of  contract,  agreement,  or  lease;  and  the  terjn  "  employees  " 
ees."  as  used  in  this  Act  shall  be  held  to  mean  persons  actually 

engaged  in  or  connected  with  the  movement  of  any  train, 
t S exmanximum     ^ec.  2-  That  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  common  car- 
ls er  v\°  e°of  r*er'  ^s  °fficers  or  agents,  subject  to  this  Act  to  require  or 
trainmen.         permit  any  employee  subject  to  this  Act  to  be  or  remain 
on  duty  for  a  longer  period  than  sixteen  consecutive 
hours,  and  whenever  any  such  employee  of  such  common 
carrier  shall  have  been  continuously  on  duty  for  sixteen 
hours  he  shall  be  relieved  and  not  required  or  permitted 


HOURS    OF    SERVICE    ACT.  91 

again  to  go  on  duty  until  he  has  had  at  least  ten  consecu-  tiv^enhou?sBe  off 
tive  hours  off  duty ;  and  no  such  employee  who  has  been  duty- 
on  duty  sixteen  hours  in  the  aggregate  in  any  twenty- 
four-hour  period  shall  be  required  or  permitted  to  con- 
tinue or  again  go  on  duty  without  having  had  at  least 
eight  consecutive  hours  off  duty :  Provided,  That  no  op-  ofs^Ve|raprh 
erator,  train  dispatcher,  or  other  employee  who  by  the  ana^  telephone 
use  of  the  telegraph   or  telephone  dispatches,  reports, 
transmits,  receives,  or  delivers  orders  pertaining  to  or 
affecting  train  movements  shall  be  required  or  permitted 
to  be  or  remain  on  duty  for  a  longer  period  than  nine 
hours    in    any   twenty-four-hour   period   in    all   towers, 
offices,  places,  and  stations  continuously  operated  night 
and  day,  nor  for  a  longer  period  than  thirteen  hours  in 
all  towers,  offices,  places,  and  stations  operated  only  dur- 
ing the  daytime,  except  in  case  of  emergency,  when  the 
employees  named  in  this  proviso  may  be  permitted  to  be 
and  remain  on  duty  for  four  additional  hours  in  a  twenty- 
four-hour  period  on  not  exceeding  three  days  in  any 
week:  Provided  further.  The  Interstate  Commerce  Com-     commission 

1  .  .  ,  may    extend 

mission  may  after  full  hearing  in  a  particular  case  and  period. 
for  good  cause  shown  extend  the  period  within  which  a 
common  carrier  shall  comply  with  the  provisions  of  this 
proviso  as  to  such  case. 

Sec.  3.  That  any  such  common  carrier,  or  any  officer  vi^tiony  for 
or  agent  thereof,  requiring  or  permitting  any  employee  to 
go,  be,  or  remain  on  duty  in  violation  of  the  second  section 
hereof,  shall  be  liable  to  a  penalty  of  not  to  exceed  five 
hundred  dollars  for  each  and  every  violation,  to  be  recov- 
ered in  a  suit  or  suits  to  be  brought  by  the  United  States 
district  attorney  in  the  district  court  of  the  United  States  prosecutions, 
having  jurisdiction  in  the  locality  where  such  violation 
shall  have  been  committed;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of 
such  district  attorney  to  bring  such  suits  upon  satisfac- 
tory information  being  lodged  with  him;  but  no  such 
suit  shall  be  brought  after  the  expiration  of  one  year  from 
the  date  of  such  violation;  and  it  shall  also  be  the  duty 
of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  to  lodge  with  the 
proper  district  attorneys  information  of  any  such  viola- 
tions as  may  come  to  its  knowledge.  In  all  prosecutions 
under  this  Act  the  common  carrier  shall  be  deemed  to 
have  had  knowledge  of  all  acts  of  all  its  officers  and 
agents:  Provided.  That  the  provisions  of  this  Act  shall 

xi-  £  ij.  -j   ui  -J      j.       Unavoidable 

not  apply  in  any  case  01  casualty  or  unavoidable  accident  accidents,  etc. 
or  the  act  of  God ;  nor  where  the  delay  was  the  result  of 


92  ASH-PAN    ACT. 

a  cause  not  known  to  the  carrier  or  its  officer  or  agent  in 

charge  of  such  employee  at  the  time  said  employee  left  a 

terminal,  and  which  could  not  have  been  foreseen:  Pro- 

etcT  crews  ng' v^ed  further,  That  the  provisions  of  this  Act  shall  not 

Enforcement,  apply  to  the  crews  of  wrecking  or  relief  trains. 

Sec.  4.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission  to  execute  and  enforce  the  provisions  of  this 
Act,  and  all  powers  granted  to  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Commission  are  hereby  extended  to  it  in  the  execution  of 
this  Act. 
Effective.  Sec.  5.  That  this  Act  shall  take  effect  and  be  in  force 

one  year  after  its  passage. 

Public,  No.  274,  approved  March  4,  1907,  11.50  a.  m. 


ASH-PAN  ACT. 

AN  ACT  To  promote  the  safety  of  employees  on  railroads. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assem- 
Ash-pan  hied,  That  on  and  after  the  first  day  of  January,  nineteen 

equipment  in  ,  "  J  ' 

i  n  t  e  rstate hundred  and  ten,  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  common 

commerce.  .  .      .  .  J 

carrier  engaged  in  interstate  or  foreign  commerce  by  rail- 
road to  use  any  locomotive  in  moving  interstate  or  foreign 
traffic,  not  equipped  with  an  ash  pan,  which  can  be 
dumped  or  emptied  and  cleaned  without  the  necessity 
of  any  employee  going  under  such  locomotive, 
e  ^f  mentain  ^ec.  ^"  That  on  and  after  the  first  day  of  January, 
Territories  and  nineteen  hundred  and  ten,  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any 

District  of  Co-  .  '  ,  J 

lumbia.  common   carrier  by   railroad   in   any   Territory  of  the 

United  States  or  the  District  of  Columbia  to  use  any 
locomotive  not  equipped  with  an  ash  pan,  which  can  be 
dumped  or  emptied  and  cleaned  without  the  necessity 
of  any  employee  going  under  such  locomotive. 
Penalties.  gEC  3  That  any  such  common  carrier  using  any  loco- 
motive in  violation  of  any  of  the  provisions  of  this  Act 
shall  be  liable  to  a  penalty  of  two  hundred  dollars  for 
each  and  every  such  violation,  to  be  recovered  in  a  suit  or 
suits  to  be  brought  by  the  United  States  district  attorney 
in  the  district  court  of  the  United  States  having  jurisdic- 
tion in  the  locality  where  such  violation  shall  have  been 
Enforcement,  committed ;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  such  district 
attorney  to  bring  such  suits  upon  duly  verified  informa- 
tion being  lodged  with  him  of  such  violation  having 


TRANSPORTATION    OF    EXPLOSIVES   ACT.  93 

occurred;  and  it  shall  also  be  the  duty  of  the  Interstate  ^o^inior3 
Commerce  Commission  to  lodge  with  the  proper  district  matioE'. 
attorneys   information   of  any  such  violations  as  may 
come  to  its  knowledge. 

Sec.  4.  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Interstate  Com-  eJ^offiJ: 
merce  Commission  to  enforce  the  provisions  of  this  Act, sion- 
and  all  powers  heretofore  granted  to  said  Commission  are 
hereby  extended  to  it  for  the  purpose  of  the  enforcement 
of  this  Act. 

Sec.  5.  That  the  term  "  common  carrier "  as  used  in  clu^eecdelvers  in' 
this  Act  shall  include  the  receiver  or  receivers  or  other 
persons  or  corporations  charged   with  the  duty  of  the 
management  and  operation  of  the  business  of  a  common 
carrier. 

Sec.  6.  That  nothing  in  this  Act  contained  shall  apply  panwishn0nt  ^J 
to  any  locomotive  upon  which,  by  reason  of  the  use  of essary- 
oil,  electricity,  or  other  such  agency,  an  ash  pan  is  not 
necessary. 

Public,  No.  165,  approved  May  30,  1908. 


TRANSPORTATION  OF  EXPLOSIVES  ACT. 

AN  ACT  To  promote  the  safe  transportation  in  interstate  com- 
merce of  explosives  and  other  dangerous  articles,  and  to  provide 
penalties  for  its  violation. 

By  an  Act  entitled  "An  Act  to  codify,  revise,  and 
amend  the  penal  laws  of  the  United  States,"  approved 
March  4,  1909,  to  take  effect  and  be  in  force  on  and  after 
the  first  day  of  January,  1910,  the  Act  entitled  "An  Act 
to  promote  the  safe  transportation  in  interstate  commerce 
of  explosives  and  other  dangerous  articles,  and  to  provide 
penalties  for  its  violation,"  approved  May  30,  1908,  is 
repealed,  and  the  following  sections  of  said  Act  to  codify, 
revise,  and  amend  the  penal  laws  of  the  United  States  are, 
substituted  therefor : 

Sec.  232.  It  shall  be  unlawful  to  transport,  carry,  or^^of™1^ 
convey,  any  dynamite,  gunpowder,  or  other  explosives,  carded  ^n  gas- 
between  a  place  in  a  foreign  country  and  a  place  within  or  for  hire, 
subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States,  or  be- 
tween a  place  in  any  State,  Territory,  or  District  of  the 
United  States,  or  place  noncontiguous  to  but  subject  to 
the  jurisdiction  thereof,  and  a  place  in  any  other  State, 
Territory,  or  District  of  the  United  States,  or  place  non- 
contiguous to  but  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  on 
any  vessel  or  vehicle  of  any  description  operated  by  a 


94  TRANSPORTATION    OF    EXPLOSIVES   ACT. 

common  carrier,  which  vessel  or  vehicle  is  carrying  pas- 
sengers for  hire:  Provided,  That  it  shall  be  lawful  to 
transport  on  any  such  vessel  or  vehicle  small  arms  ammu- 
nition in  any  quantity,  and  such  fuses,  torpedoes,  rockets, 
or  other  signal  devices,  as  may  be  essential  to  promote 
safety  in  operation,  and  properly  packed  and  marked 
samples  of  explosives  for  laboratory  examination,  not 
exceeding  a  net  weight  of  one-half  pound  each,  and  not 
exceeding  twenty  samples  at  one  time  in  a  single  vessel 
or  vehicle;  but  such  samples  shall  not  be  carried  in  that 
part  of  a  vessel  or  vehicle  which  is  intended  for  the  trans- 
portation of  passengers  for  hire :  Provided  further,  That 
nothing  in  this  section  shall  be  construed  to  prevent  the 
transportation  of  military  or  naval  forces  with  their 
accompanying  munitions  of  war  on  passenger  equipment 
vessels  or  vehicles. 
Commerce  Sec.  ^33.  The  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  shall 
m°aTeSSr«£uia°  formulate  regulations  for  the  safe  transportation  of  ex- 
portauor^of  ex-  plosives,  which  shall  be  binding  upon  all  common  carriers 
plosives.  engaged  in  interstate  or  foreign  commerce  which  trans- 

port explosives  by  land.  Said  Commission,  of  its  own 
motion,  or  upon  application  made  by  any  interested 
party,  may  make  changes  or  modifications  in  such  regula- 
tions, made  desirable  by  new  information  or  altered  con- 
ditions. Such  regulations  shall  be  in  accord  with  the 
best  known  practicable  means  for  securing  safety  in 
transit,  covering  the  packing,  marking,  loading,  handling 
while  in  transit,  and  the  precautions  necessary  to  deter- 
mine whether  the  material  when  offered  is  in  proper 
condition  to  transport.  Such  regulations,  as  well  as  all 
changes  or  modifications  thereof,  shall  take  effect  ninety- 
days  after  their  formulation  and  publication  by  said  Com- 
mission and  shall  be  in  effect  until  reversed,  set  aside,  or 
modified. 
Liquid  nitro-  Sec.  234.  It  shall  be  unlawful  to  transport,  carry,  or 
nit  Ctoribe  cacr-  convey,  liquid  nitroglycerin,  fulminate  in  bulk  in  dry 
veehides.certain  condition,  or  other  like  explosive,  between  a  place  in  a 
foreign  country  and  a  place  within  or  subject  to  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  United  States,  or  between  a  place  in 
one  State,  Territory,  or  District  of  the  United  States,  or  a 
place  noncontiguous  to  but  subject  to  the  jurisdiction 
thereof,  and  a  place  in  any  other  State,  Territory,  or  Dis- 
trict of  the  United  States,  or  place  noncontiguous  to  but 
subject  to  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  on  any  vessel  or  ve- 
hicle of  any  description  operated  by  a  common  carrier  in 


BOILER   INSPECTION   ACT.  95 

the  transportation  of  passengers  or  articles  of  commerce 
by  land  or  water. 

Sec.  235.  Every  package  containing  explosives  or  other    Marking  of 

*    c  °  or  packages  of  ex- 

dangerous  articles  when  presented  to  a  common  carrier  plosives ;    d  e  - 

„  .  .  .    .  .        ceptive  mark- 

for  shipment  shall  have  plainly  marked  on  the  outside  ing. 
thereof  the  contents  thereof ;  and  it  shall  be  unlawful  for 
any  person  to  deliver,  or  cause  to  be  delivered,  to  any 
common  carrier  engaged  in  interstate  or  foreign  com- 
merce by  land  or  water,  for  interstate  or  foreign  trans- 
portation, or  to  carry  upon  any  vessel  or  vehicle  engaged 
in  interstate  or  foreign  transportation,  any  explosive,  or 
other  dangerous  article,  under  any  false  or  deceptive 
marking,  description,  invoice,  shipping  order,  or  other 
declaration,  or  without  informing  the  agent  of  such  car- 
rier of  the  true  character  thereof,  at  or  before  the  time 
such  delivery  or  carriage  is  made.  Whoever  shall  know- 
ingly violate,  or  cause  to  be  violated,  any  provision  of  this 
section,  or  of  the  three  sections  last  preceding,  or  any 
regulation  made  by  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commis- 
sion in  pursuance  thereof,  shall  be  fined  not  more  than 
two  thousand  dollars,  or  imprisoned  not  more  than 
eighteen  months,  or  both. 

Sec.  236.  When  the  death  or  bodily  iniury  of  any  per-  Death  or  bod- 

.  .     1 1 y     injury 

son  is  caused  by  the  explosion  of  any  article  named  in  caused  by  such 

,,        ~  ,.  -i      ,  j-  i  -I      ,,  i     .         transportation. 

the  four  sections  last  preceding,  while  the  same  is  being 
placed  upon  any  vessel  or  vehicle  to  be  transported  in 
violation  thereof,  or  while  the  same  is  being  so  trans- 
ported, or  while  the  same  is  being  removed  from  such 
vessel  or  vehicle,  the  person  knowingly  placing,  or  aiding 
or  permitting  the  placing,  of  such  articles  upon  any  such 
vessel  or  vehicle,  to  be  so  transported,  shall  be  imprisoned 
not  more  than  ten  years. 

Public,  No.  350,  approved  March  4,  1909. 


BOILER  INSPECTION  ACT. 

AN  ACT  To  promote  the  safety  of  employees  and  travelers  upon 
railroads  by  compelling  common  carriers  engaged  in  interstate 
commerce  to  equip  their  locomotives  with  safe  and  suitable 
boilers  and  appurtenances  thereto. 

Be  it  enacted  by  tlie  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assem- 
bled, That  the  provisions  of  this  Act  shall  apply  to  any     Locomotive 

,-,     .  /J.  .  ,  boilers. 

common  carrier  or  carriers,  their  onicers,  agents,  and    Common  car- 
employees,  engaged  in  the  transportation  of  passengers  or  by  act. 


96  BOILER   INSPECTION   ACT. 

property  by  railroad  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  or  in 
any  Territory  of  the  United  States,  or  from  one  State  or 
Territory  of  the  United  States  or  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia to  any  other  State  or  Territory  of  the  United  States 
or  the  District  of  Columbia,  or  from  any  place  in  the 
United  States  to  an  adjacent  foreign  country,  or  from 
m  nin  of  any  place  ^n  tne  United  States  through  a  foreign  country 
terms.  to  any  other  place  in  the  United  States.     The  term  "  rail- 

"  Railroads.  .  . 

road  "  as  used  in  this  Act  shall  include  all  the  roads  in 
use  by  any  common  carrier  operating  a  railroad,  whether 
owned  or  operated  under  a  contract,  agreement,  or  lease, 
"  Employees."  and  the  term  "  employees  "  as  used  in  this  Act  shall  be 
held  to  mean  persons  actually  engaged  in  or  connected 
with  the  movement  of  any  train. 
Locomotives.      Sec.  2.  That  from  and  after  the  first  day  of  July,  nine- 
withS  safe^boi?-  teen  hundred  and  eleven,  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any 
ers,    unlawful.  common  carrier,  its  officers  or  agents,  subject  to  this  Act 
to  use  any  locomotive  engine  propelled  by  steam  power 
in  moving  interstate  or  foreign  traffic  unless  the  boiler 
of  said   locomotive   and   appurtenances   thereof   are  in 
proper  condition  and  safe  to  operate  in  the  service  to 
which  the  same  is  put,  that  the  same  may  be  employed  in 
the  active  service  of  such  carrier  in  moving  traffic  with- 
out unnecessary  peril  to  life  or  limb,  and  all  boilers  shall 
inspection,    j^  inspected  from  time  to  time  in  accordance  with  the 
provisions  of  this  Act,  and  be  able  to  withstand  such  test 
or  tests  as  may  be  prescribed  in  the  rules  and  regulations 
hereinafter  provided  for. 

asXeJna°dchte?     Sec-  3-  That  there  sha11  be  appointed  by  the  President, 
inspectors.  n  t  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  a  chief 
ment,  etc.         inspector  and  two  assistant  chief  inspectors  of  locomotive 
boilers,  who  shall  have  general  superintendence  of  the 
inspectors  hereinafter  provided  for,  direct  them  in  the 
duties  hereby  imposed  upon  them,  and  see  that  the  re- 
quirements of  this  Act  and  the  rules,  regulations,  and 
instructions  made  or  given  hereunder  are  observed  by 
common  carriers  subject  hereto.     The  said  chief  inspec- 
Seiection.      tor  and  his  two  assistants  shall  be  selected  with  reference 
to  their  practical  knowledge  of  the  construction  and  re- 
pairing of  boilers,  and  to  their  fitness  and  ability  to  sys- 
tematize and  carry  into  effect  the  provisions  hereof  relat- 
ing to  the  inspection   and  maintenance   of  locomotive 
salaries,  etc.  boilers.    The  chief  inspector  shall  receive  a  salary  of  four 
thousand  dollars  per  year  and  the  assistant  chief  inspec- 
tors shall  each  receive  a  salary  of  three  thousand  dollars 


BOILER   INSPECTION    ACT.  97 

per  year;  and  each  of  the  three  shall  be  paid  his  travel- 
ing expenses  incurred  in  the  performance  of  his  duties. 
The  office  of  the  chief  inspector  shall  be  in  Washington,  0ffice>  etc- 
District  of  Columbia,  and  the  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mission shall  provide  such  stenographic  and  clerical  help 
as  the  business  of  the  offices  of  the  chief  inspector  and  his 
said  assistants  may  require. 

Sec.  4.  That  immediately  after  his  appointment  anddist\ncstPection 
qualification  the  chief  inspector  shall  divide  the  terri- 
tory comprising  the  several  States,  the  Territories  of 
New  Mexico  and  Arizona,  and  the  District  of  Columbia 
into  fifty  locomotive  boiler-inspection  districts,  so  ar- 
ranged that  the  service  of  the  inspector  appointed  for 
each  district  shall  be  most  effective,  and  so  that  the  work 
required  of  each  inspector  shall  be  substantially  the  same. 
Thereupon  there  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Commission  fifty  inspectors  of  locomotive  spectors"*  ' n 
boilers.  Said  inspectors  shall  be  in  the  classified  service  CiviF  service!*^ 
and  shall  be  appointed  after  competitive  examination  ac- 
cording to  the  law  and  the  rules  of  the  Civil  Service  Com- 
mission governing  the  classified  service.  The  chief  in- 
spector shall  assign  one  inspector  so  appointed  to  each  of 
the  districts  hereinbefore  named.  Each  inspector  shall 
receive  a  salary  of  one  thousand  eight  hundred  dollars 
per  year  and  his  traveling  expenses  while  engaged  in  the 
performance  of  his  duty.  He  shall  receive  in  addition 
thereto  an  annual  allowance  for  office  rent,  stationery, 
and  clerical  assistance^  to  be  fixed  by  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Commission,  but  not  to  exceed  in  the  case  of  any 
district  inspector  six  hundred  dollars  per  year.  In  order 
to  obtain  the  most  competent  inspectors  possible,  it  shall  of  applicants. 
be  the  duty  of  the  chief  inspector  to  prepare  a  list  of 
questions  to  be  propounded  to  applicants  with  respect  to 
construction,  repair,  operation,  testing,  and  inspection  of 
locomotive  boilers,  and  their  practical  experience  in  such 
work,  which  list,  being  approved  by  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Commission,  shall  be  used  by  the  Civil  Service 
Commission  as  a  part  of  its  examination.  No  person  in-  tions.squaIlflca 
terested,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  in  any  patented 
article  required  to  be  used  on  any  locomotive  under 
supervision  or  who  is  intemperate  in  his  habits  shall  be 
eligible  to  hold  the  office  of  either  chief  inspector  or 
assistant  or  district  inspector. 

Sec.  5.  That  each  carrier  subiect  to  this  Act  shall  file    inspection  by 
its  rules  and  instructions  for  the  inspection  of  locomotive 

66170°— 14 7 


carriers. 


98  BOILER   INSPECTION    ACT. 

boilers  with  the  chief  inspector  within  three  months  after 

the  approval  of  this  Act,  and  after  hearing  and  approval 

a  p  p  r  o  v  a  1,  by  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  such  rules  and 

etc.,  of  r  u  1  e  s  .  *  .  .  ' 

filed.  instructions,  with  such  modifications  as  the  Commission 

requires,  shall  become  obligatory  upon  such  carrier :  Pro- 

Ru°esS°to  bev^e(^i  however,  That  if  any  carrier  subject  to  this  Act 

observed  if  shall  fail  to  file  its  rules  and  instructions  the  chief  in- 

currier    runs 

to  file  any.  spector  shall  prepare  rules  and  instructions  not  incon- 
sistent herewith  for  the  inspection  of  locomotive  boilers, 
to  be  observed  by  such  carrier;  which  rules  and  instruc- 
tions, being  approved  by  the  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mission, and  a  copy  thereof  being  served  upon  the  presi- 
dent, general  manager,  or  general  superintendent  of  such 
carrier,  shall  be  obligatory,  and  a  violation  thereof  pun- 

changes.  i&hed  as  hereinafter  provided:  Provided  also,  That  such 
common  carrier  may  from  time  to  time  change  the  rules 
and  regulations  herein  provided  for,  but  such  change 
shall  not  take  effect  and  the  new  rules  and  regulations  be 
in  force  until  the  same  shall  have  been  filed  with  and  ap- 

office  rules,  proved  bv  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission.  The 
chief  inspector  shall  also  make  all  needful  rules,  regula- 
tions, and  instructions  not  inconsistent  herewith  for  the 
conduct  of  his  office  and  for  the  government  of  the  dis- 

Approvai  oftrict  inspectors:  Provided,  however \  That  all  such  rules 

fill  rules 

and  instructions  shall  be  approved  by  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Commission  before  they  take  effect. 
District  in-  Sec.  6.  That  it  shall  be  the  dutv  of  each  inspector  to 
become  familiar,  so  far  as  practicable,  with  the  condition 
of  each  locomotive  boiler  ordinarily  housed  or  repaired  in 
his  district,  and  if  any  locomotive  is  ordinarily  housed  or 
repaired  in  two  or  more  districts,  then  the  chief  inspector 
or  an  assistant  shall  make  such  division  between  in- 
spectors as  will  avoid  the  necessity  for  duplication  of 
Personal  in- work.     Each  inspector  shall  make  such  personal  inspec- 

boiiers.  tion  of  the  locomotive  boilers  under  his  care  from  time  to 

time  as  may  be  necessary  to  fully  carry  out  the  provisions 
of  this  Act,  and  as  may  be  consistent  with  his  other  duties, 
but  he  shall  not  be  required  to  make  such  inspections  at 
stated  times  or  at  regular  intervals.    His  first  duty  shall 

earriePresction  by  De  *°  see  tnat  tne  carriers  make  inspections  in  accordance 
with  the  rules  and  regulations  established  or  approved  by 
the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  and  that  carriers 
repair  the  defects  which  such  inspections  disclose  before 
the  boiler  or  boilers  or  appurtenances  pertaining  thereto 
are  again  put  in  service.    To  this  end  each  carrier  sub- 


BOILER   INSPECTION    ACT.  99 

ject  to  this  Act  shall  file  with  the  inspector  in  charge, 
under  the  oath  of  the  proper  officer  or  employee,  a  dupli-  p  0sr^  °  rt°  'bee 
cate  of  the  report  of  each  inspection  required  by  suchfiled- 
rules  and  regulations,  and  shall  also  file  with  such  in-  ^ 

spector,  under  the  oath  of  the  proper  officer  or  employee, 
a  report  showing  the  repair  of  the  defects  disclosed  by  the    Repairing  de- 
inspection.    The  rules  and  regulations  hereinbefore  pro- 
vided for  shall  prescribe  the  time  at  which  such  reports 
shall  be  made.     Whenever  any  district  inspector  shall,  in  ^^^£1" 
the  performance  of  his  duty,  find  any  locomotive  boiler  etc. 
or  apparatus  pertaining  thereto  not  conforming  to  the 
requirements  of  the  law  or  the  rules  and  regulations  es- 
tablished and  approved  as  hereinbefore  stated,  he  shall 
notify  the  carrier  in  writing  that  the  locomotive  is  not  in 
serviceable  condition,  and  thereafter  such  boiler  shall  not 
be  used  until  in  serviceable  condition:  Provided,  That  a    £^*f£iH  t0 
carrier,  when  notified  by  an  inspector  in  writing  that  a?hief  inspector 

^  r  °  by  carrier. 

locomotive  boiler  is  not  in  serviceable  condition  because  of 
defects  set  out  and  described  in  said  notice,  may,  within 
five  days  after  receiving  said  notice,  appeal  to  the  chief 
inspector  by  telegraph  or  by  letter  to  have  said  boiler  re- 
examined, and  upon  receipt  of  the  appeal  from  the  in-  ti0neexamina' 
spector's  decision  the  chief  inspector  shall  assign  one  of 
the  assistant  chief  inspectors  or  any  district  inspector 
other  than  the  one  from  whose  decision  the  appeal  is 
taken  to  reexamine  and  inspect  said  boiler  within  fifteen 
days  from  date  of  notice.     If  upon  such  reexamination     Effect, 
the  boiler  is  found  in  serviceable  condition,  the  chief  in- 
spector shall  immediately  notify  the  carrier  in  writing, 
whereupon  such  boiler  may  be  put  into  service  without 
further  delay ;  but  if  the  reexamination  of  said  boiler  sus- 
tains the  decision  of  the  district  inspector,  the  chief  in- 
spector shall  at  once  notify  the  carrier  owning  or  operat- 
ing such  locomotive  that  the  appeal  from  the  decision  of 
the  inspector  is  dismissed,  and  upon  the  receipt  of  such 
notice  the  carrier  may,  within  thirty  days,  appeal  to  the.  ^ft^lltt 
Interstate  Commerce  Commission,  and  upon  such  appeal,  commission  °  e 
and  after  hearing,  said  Commission  shall  have  power  to 
revise,  modify,  or  set  aside  such  action  of  the  chief  in-    Final  action, 
spector  and  declare  that  said  locomotive  is  in  serviceable 
condition  and  authorize  the  same  to  be  operated:  Pro- 
vided further.  That  pending  either  appeal  the  require-  requirements 
ments  of  the  inspector  shall  be  effective.  ??|cip5ea5Snd' 

Sec.  7.  That  the  chief  inspector  shall  make  an  annual  por\n  °f  achief 
report  to  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  of  the  inspector. 


100  BOILER   INSPECTION    ACT. 

work  done  during  the  year,  and  shall  make  such  recom- 
mendations for  the  betterment  of  the  service  as  he  may 
desire. 
Accidents     Sec.  8.  That  in  the  case  of  accident  resulting:  from  fail- 

from  failure  of  ... 

boilers.  ure  from  any  cause  of  a  locomotive  boiler  or  its  appurte- 

nances, resulting  in  serious  injury  or  death  to  one  or  more 
persons,  a  statement  forthwith  must  be  made  in  writing 
of  the  fact  of  such  accident,  by  the  carrier  owning  or  op- 
investigation. erating  said  locomotive,  to  the  chief  inspector;  where- 
upon the  facts  concerning  such  accident  shall  be  investi- 
gated by  the  chief  inspector  or  one  of  his  assistants,  or 
such  inspector  as  the  chief  inspector  may  designate  for 
Disabled  that  purpose.     And  where  the  locomotive  is  disabled  to 

served.0  e  pre  the  extent  that  it  can  not  be  run  by  its  own  steam,  the 
part  or  parts  affected  by  the  said  accident  shall  be  pre- 
served by  said  carrier  intact,  so  far  as  possible,  without 
hindrance  or  interference  to  traffic  until  after  said  in- 
^Detaiied  re-  spection.  The  chief  inspector  or  an  assistant  or  the 
designated  inspector  making  the  investigation  shall  ex- 
amine or  cause  to  be  examined  thoroughly  the  boiler  or 
part  affected,  making  full  and  detailed  report  of  the  cause 
of  the  accident  to  the  chief  inspector. 
Reports  by  in-     The  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  may  at  anv  time 

merce  Commis-  call  upon  the  chief  inspector  for  a  report  of  anv  accident 

sion   of    cause,        i  i  •      .*  •  ,  •  n  ,  .  *       .  -, 

etc.  embraced  in  this  section,  and  upon  the  receipt  of  said  re- 

port, if  it  deems  it  to  the  public  interest,  make  reports  of 
such  investigations,  stating  the  cause  of  accident,  together 
with  such  recommendations  as  it  deems  proper.  Such  re- 
ports shall  be  made  public  in  such  manner  as  the  Commis- 
Reports,  etc.,  si°n  deems  proper.     Neither  said  report  nor  any  report  of 

damage^ults!11  said  investigation  nor  any  part  thereof  shall  be  admitted 

as  evidence  or  used  for  any  purpose  in  any  suit  or  action 

for  damages  growing  out  of  any  matter  mentioned  in 

said  report  or  investigation. 

Penalty  for      Sec.  9.  That  any  common  carrier  violating  this  Act  or 

violations     by  .  ,      .  .  -,        •,  ■  « 

carriers.  any  rule  or  regulation  made  under  its  provisions  or  any 

lawful  order  of  any  inspector  shall  be  liable  to  a  penalty 
of  one  hundred  dollars  for  each  and  every  such  violation. 
to  be  recovered  in  a  suit  or  suits  to  be  brought  by  the 
United  States  attorney  in  the  district  court  of  the  United 
Duty  of  dis-  States  having  jurisdiction  in  the  locality  where  such  vio- 

toCbring°suitsS  lation  shall  have  been  committed ;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty 
of  such  attorneys,  subject  to  the  direction  of  the  Attorney 
General,  to  bring  such  suits  upon  duly  verified  in  form  a- 


BLOCK    SIGNAL   RESOLUTION.  101 

tion  being  lodged  with  them,  respectively,  of  such  vio- 
lations having  occurred;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  fromfcMef "in- 
chief  inspector  of  locomotive  boilers  to  give  information  sPector- 
to  the  proper  United  States  attorney  of  all  violations  of 
this  Act  coming  to  his  knowledge. 

Sec.  10.  That  the  total  amounts  directly  appropriated  pr^priationsap 
to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  this  Act  shall  not  exceed 
for  any  one  fiscal  year  the  sum  of  three  hundred  thousand 
dollars. 

Public,  No.  383,  approved  February  17,  1911. 


BLOCK  SIGNAL  RESOLUTION. 

JOINT  RESOLUTION  Directing-  the  Interstate  Commerce  Com- 
mission to  investigate  and  report  on  block-signal  systems  and 
appliances  for  the  automatic  control  of  railway  trains. 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  United,  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled, 
That  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  be,  and  it  is  directedmtoBiin° 
hereby,  directed  to  investigate  and  report  on  the  use  of  reporgtat  ona  ned 
and  necessity  for  block-signal  systems  and  appliances  for  £^ks  gjg£alf or 
the  automatic  control  of  railway  trains  in  the  United 
States.    For  this  purpose  the  Commission  is  authorized 
to  employ  persons  who  are  familiar  with  the  subject,  and 
may  use  such  of  its  own  employees  as  are  necessary  to 
make  a  thorough  examination  into  the  matter. 

In  transmitting  its  report  to  the  Congress  the  Commis-  toCtakettltesti° 
sion  shall  recommend  such  legislation  as  to  the  Commis-  ?e0commenfc 
sion  seems  advisable.  tions" 

To  carry  out  and  give  effect  to  the  provisions  of  this 
resolution  the  Commission  shall  have  power  to  issue  sub- 
poenas, administer  oaths,  examine  witnesses,  require  the 
production  of  books  and  papers,  and  receive  depositions 
taken  before  any  proper  officer  in  any  State  or  Territory 
of  the  United  States. 

Public  Resolution,  No.  46,  approved  June  30,  1906. 


Urgent  deficiency  act  (appropriations)  of  October  22,  tes^ck  signal 
1913,  provides  that  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission, 
at  its  discretion,  may  investigate  and  report  in  regard  to 
the  use  and  necessity  for  block-signal  systems  and  appli- 
ances for  the  automatic  control  of  railway  trains  and 
any  appliances  or  systems  intended  to  promote  the  safety 
of  railway  operation,  including  experimental   tests  of 


102  BLOCK    SIGNAL   RESOLUTION. 

such  systems  and  appliances  as  shall  be  furnished  in  com- 
pleted shape,  to  such  Commission  for  such  investigation 
and  test,  free  of  cost  to  the  Government,  in  accordance 
with  the  provisions  of  the  joint  resolution  approved  June 
thirtieth,  nineteen  hundred  and  six. 

$  *  $  $  $ 

No  money  appropriated  by  this  or  any  other  Act  shall 
be  used  for  the  compensation  of  any  publicity  expert  un- 
less specifically  appropriated  for  that  purpose. 


IJ^DEX. 

Page. 

Absorption,  noncompetitive  short  lines  by  main  lines 64 

Access,  Commission's  agents  to  carriers'  property 39 

Accidents : 

Excepted  from  hours-of-service  act 91 

From  defective  boilers 100 

Accidents  report  act , 86-88 

Damage  suits,  reports  not  to  be  used  in 87 

Failure  to  report 86 

Foreign  commerce  defined-^ 87 

Form  of  report 87 

Interstate  commerce  denned 87 

Monthly  reports  of  accidents 86 

Penalty  for  failure  to  report 86 

Power  of  Commission  to  investigate  accidents 86 

Repeal  of  prior  act 87 

Report  of  investigations 87 

State  commissions,  cooperation  with 87 

Testimony 87 

Accounts  of  carriers: 
Access  to — 

Commission  shall  have 44 

Commission's  agents  shall  have 39 

Destruction  of,  Commission  may  permit 44 

False,  by  shipper  to  obtain  refund 23 

Filing  of,  mandamus  to  compel 45 

Form  of,  Commission  may  prescribe 43 

Uniform  system  of,  Commission  may  prescribe 42-^43 

Act  of  God  excepted,  hours-of-service  act 91 

Action  for  damages: 

Complaint  to  Commission  or  suit  in  court 21 

Enforcement  of  Commission's  award  of  damages 33 

Government-aided  lines . 76 

Adjacent  foreign  country,  transportation  to  and  from 7 

Advance  in  rates: 

Burden  of  carrier  to  justify 30 

Commission   may   suspend 29-30 

Due  to  elimination  of  water  competition 13 

Advantage,   unreasonable,   unlawful 12 

Affidavits : 

False  by  shipper  to  obtain  refund,  etc 23 

Medals  of  honor  act 89 

Affirmations,  Commissioners  may  administer 36 

Agents,  necessary,  free  transportation 9,46 

103 


104  INDEX. 

Agents  of  carrier :  Page. 

Acts  of,  are  deemed  to  be  acts  of  carrier 57 

Deemed  to  know  acts  of 91 

Xame  of,  to  be  posted  at  stations 18-19 

Passes  to . 9, 46 

Service  on  carrier  by  leaving  copy  with 49 

Washington  agents — 

Service  of  order  of  Commission  on 34 

To  be  designated 49 

Agents  of  Commission,  special : 

To  inspect  accounts,  Commission  may  employ 44 

To  receive  evidence,  Commission  may  employ 45 

Agreement : 

Annual  report  of  carrier  concerning 43 

Commission  may  require  production  of 25 

Conditioned  upon  purchaser  not  to  deal  with  competitor 62,63 

Filed  with  Commission  are  public  records 35 

For  pooling  of  freights  and  division  of  earnings,  unlawful 13 

No  person  excused  from  producing 54 

Of  carriers  to  be  filed  with  Commission 17 

Of  Government-aided  lines,  to  be  filed  with  Commission 76 

Road  operated  under,  included  in  term  "railroad" 8 

To  break  bulk,  unlawful  if  to  prevent  continuous  carriage 20-21 

Aid  to  carriers  from  United  States,  etc.,  value  of 38 

Air  brakes,  percentage  of  carriers  in  train 82 

Allowance : 

Shipper  to  obtain  by  false  means,  a  misdemeanor 23 

To  Government  made  by  carriers  in  consideration  of  land  grants,  etc_  39 

To  owners  of  traffic  for  service  rendered 32 

Amendments  to  act  not  to  affect  pending  cases 48,49,60 

American  Railway  Association  to  designate  height  of  drawbars 80 

Ammunition  under  explosives  act 94 

Analysis  of  methods  of  ascertaining  costs  of  property  of  carriers 38 

Annual  reports  of  carriers : 

Commission  may  require  and  prescribe  method  of  making 42 

Government-aided  railroad  or  telegraph  lines 76 

Statistics  in,  are  public  records 35 

To  be  filed  by  September  30  of  each  year 43 

Annual  reports,  chief  inspector  of  locomotive  boilers 99 

Annual  reports  of  Commission  : 

Commission  to  Congress 46 

Printed  for  distribution 28 

Antitrust  acts: 

Order  under  Clayton  Act  does  not  relieve  from 70 

Not  repealed  by  Clayton  Act 64 

Sherman,  violators  of,  not  to  use  Panama  Canal 15 

Appeals : 

Circuit   Court  of  Appeals  to  United   States   Supreme  Court   under 

Clayton  Act 69 

Costs,  enforcement  of  order  for  payment  of  money 33 

District  courts  to  United  States  Supreme  Court 52 

District  inspector's  decision — 

To  chief  inspector 99 

To  Commission 99 


1 


INDEX.  105 

Appeals — Continued.  Page. 

Inspectors'  requirements  effective  pending 99 

Interested  parties  may,  from  enforcement  of  orders  under  Clayton 

Act  69 

Supreme  Court  and  court  of  appeals  under  expediting  act 61,  62 

Appearances  before  Commission,  by  attorney  or  in  person 36 

Appliances,  Commission  to  designate 83 

Application : 
Carriers — 

For  relief  from  operation  of  section  4 13 

To  determine  question  of  competition  with  water  lines 14 

Medals  of  honor 89 

Shipper's  or  lateral  branch  line's,  for  switch  connection ± 11 

Appointments  by  President: 

Boiler-inspection    act 96 

Interstate  Commerce  Commissioners 24,48 

Appropriations : 

Block-signal    resolution 101 

Boiler-inspection    act 101 

Medals  of  honor  act 88 

Arrangement : 

Between  carriers  filed  with  Commission 18 

Between  carriers  filed  with  Commission,  public  records 35 

Between  rail  and  water  lines  for  continuous  carriage 7 

Artificial  person,  penalty  of  imprisonment  shall  not  apply  to 23 

Ash-pan  act 92-93 

Duty  of  Commission 93 

Enforcement 93 

Equipment    necessary 92 

Locomotives    excepted 93 

Penalty  for  violation 92 

Receivers    included 93 

Association : 

Complaint  to  Commission  by 27 

Subsidy  or  donation  from,  to  carriers 38 

Assumption  of  risk 81 

Attorney  General: 

Authority  to  transfer  property  of  Commerce  Court 53 

Certificate  of,  to  expedite  suits 61 

Commission  to  report  to,  of  violations  of  making  purchases  without 

bids 67 

District  attorneys  to  prosecute  under  direction  of 25,34 

Duty  of,  under  Government-aided  lines  act 75 

Notice  to,  of  tentative  valuation 40 

To  direct  prosecutions 58,77 

To  direct  suits,  boiler-inspection  act 100 

Attorneys:     (See  also  District  Attorneys.) 

Commission  may  employ 34 

Parties  may  appear  by,  or  in  person 36 

Passes  to  attorneys  in  employ  of  carrier 9 

Attorney's  fees,  carrier  liable  for,  as  part  of  costs 21,  33 

Automatic  couplers,  cars  to  be  equipped  with 79 


106  INDEX. 

Award  of  damages:  Page 

Commission  may  make 33 

Enforcement  of  Commission's 33 

Baggage : 

Agents,  passes  to 9-10 

Free,  under  mileage  tickets 47 

Personal,  sample,  and  excess 9 

Bonk  : 

Director,  officer,  or  employee  in  more  than  one,  prohibited 64 

Mutual  savings,  directors  and  officers  in 65 

Banker,  private,  director,  etc.,  in  bank  organized  under  United  States  laws.  65 

Banking  arrangements,  for  issuance  of  stocks,  etc 38 

Banks,  Federal  Reserve  Board  to  enforce  Clayton  Act  where  applicable  to_  68 

Betterments  in  carrier's  property 40 

Bids: 

Contracts,  etc.,  between  corporations  to  be  by  competitive 67 

Penalty  for  preventing  bidding  or  competition  among  bidders 67 

Bill,  false,  by  shipper 23 

Bill  of  lading: 

Carrier  shall  issue 31,45 

Exempting  carrier  from  liability 45 

False,  by  shipper  to  obtain  refund 23 

Issued  for  transportation  of  stores  used  in  valuation  service 42 

Regulations,  reasonable,  affecting 9 

Billing,  false,  by  shipper  or  carrier 22 

Block-signal  resolution 101 

Boiler-inspection   act , 95-101 

Accidents  reported  to  chief  inspector 100 

Annual  report  of  chief  inspector 99 

Appeal  to  chief  inspector  and  Commission 99 

Appropriation 101 

Boilers  subject  to 96 

Carriers  affected 95 

Chief  inspector 96,  99, 100, 101 

Civil   service 97 

Damage  suits,  reports  not  to  be  used  in 100 

Defective  boilers,  notice  of 99 

Employees  defined 96 

Enforcement  of 100 

Examinations  for  inspectors 97 

Inspection — 

By  carriers 97,  98 

Districts,  United  States  divided  into 97 

Inspectors,  salary,  etc 96,97,98 

Investigation  of  accidents 100 

Locomotive  boilers  must  be  safe 96 

Offices  of  chief  inspector  and  district  inspector 97 

Penalty  for  violation 100 

Railroads  defined 96 

Report  of  accidents 100 

Rules  for  inspection,  Commission  to  approve 98 


INDEX.  107 

Bond : 

Execution  of —  Pago. 

Injunction  proceedings  under  Clayton  Act 71 

Where  temporary  restraining  order  granted  under  Clayton  Act__  72 

Bonds  of  carriers,  valuation  report  shall  show 38 

Books  and  papers: 

Commerce  Court,  sent  to  Department  of  Justice 53 

Commission  may  require  production  of 25 

Courts  may  compel  production  of 25.59 

No  person  excused  from  producing 54 

Branch  line: 

Application  of,  for  switch  connection 11 

May  be  acquired  by  main  lines . 64 

Breaking  bulk,  unlawful  unless  made  in  good  faith 21 

Bridges  included  in  term  "railroad" 8,90 

Briefs  to  President,  medals  of  honor  act 89 

Bulk,  break  of 21 

Burden  of  proof  on  carrier  to  justify  advances 30 

Business,  Commissioners  not  to  have  other 24-25 

Cable  companies : 

Charges  shall  be  just  and  reasonable 8 

Exchange  of  passes  or  franks  with  common  carrier 10 

Exchange  of  service  with  common  carrier 9 

Messages,  classification 8 

Subject  to  act 7 

Calamitous  visitation,  carrying  passengers  free  in  cases  of 10 

Canal : 

Lake  Erie  and  Ohio  River  Ship  Canal 77 

Panama  Canal 14, 15,20 

Capital  stock: 

Director,  etc.,  in  more  than  one  bank  where  entire  capital  stock  is 

owned  by  the  other 65 

Increases  or  decreases,  valuation  report  shall  show 3S 

Caretakers  of  live  stock,  etc.,  passes  to 9-10 

Carmack  amendment 45 

Carriers : 

"Common  carrier"  defined 8 

Deemed  to  have  knowledge  of  acts  of  agents,  etc 91 

Held  to  mean  common  carrier 17 

Notice  to,  of  tentative  valuation 40 

Shall  file  rules  and  instructions 97,98 

Subject  to  act 7 

Subject  to — 

Accidents-report  act 86 

Ash-pan  act 92 

Boiler-inspection  act 95 

Explosives  act 93 

Hours-of -service  act 90 

Safety-appliance  act 79,  81,  83 

Cars: 

Carriage  in  different 21 

Defective,  may  be  hauled  to  nearest  repair  point 84 


108  INDEX. 

Cars — Continued.  Page. 

Equipped  with  train  brakes,  automatic  couplers,  etc 79 

Exchange,  interchange,  and  return S 

Furnished  for  shipper  with  spur  track 11 

Included  in  term  "transportation" 8 

Mandamus  to  compel  furnishing 4S 

Not  equipped  with  safety  appliances,  not  to  be  handled 79 

Subject  to  safety-appliance  act 85 

Certificate,  false,  by  shipper  to  obtain  refund,  etc 23 

Certiorari,  review  by  Supreme  Court  of  order  under  Clayton  antitrust  act-  09 

Chains,  hauling  by,  not  permitted  unless  cars  contain  live  stock  or  per- 
ishable freight 85 

Chairman  of  Commission  shall  approve  vouchers 37 

Changes : 

In  conditions  and  value  of  carriers'  property 40 

In  rates 16 

Charges : 

Commission  may  prescribe  maximum 29 

Filed  with  Commission,  public  records 35 

For  services  rendered  by  owner  of  property  transported 32 

Less  for  longer  than  for  shorter  haul 12-13 

Must  be  just  and  reasonable 8 

Rules  and  regulations  affecting 15-16 

Terminal  and  all  other,  to  be  printed  and  posted 10 

Unless  filed,  carrier  not  to  transport 17 

Charitable: 

Institutions,  passes  to  inmates  of 9,40 

"Work,  passes  to  persons  engaged  in 9,40 

Chief  inspector : 

Annual  report  to  Commission 99 

Appointed  by  President 96 

Carriers  may  appeal  to 99 

Notify  district  attorneys  of  violations  of  act 101 

Report  of  accidents 100 

Children,  minor,  of  deceased  employees  of  carrier,  passes  to 10 

Circuit  court  of  appeals : 

Appeals  to,  under  expediting  act 02 

Commission  may  apply  to  for  enforcement  of  order  under  Clayton 

antitrust  act 69 

Exclusive  jurisdiction  under  Clayton  antitrust  act 70 

Civil  service: 

District  inspectors  chosen  by 97 

Shall  use  questions  approved  by  Commission 97 

Civil  suit  to  recover  forfeiture 34 

Claims : 

False,  by  shipper  to  obtain  refund,  etc 23 

To  be  filed  within  two  years 33 

Classification : 

Commission  may  prescribe 29 

Copies  of,  filed  with  Commission,  public  records 35 

Elements  of  valuation.  Commission  may  determine 39 

False — 

By  carrier,  misdemeanor 22 

By  shipper,  fraud,  declared  a  misdemeanor 23 


INDEX.  109 

Classification — Continued.  Page. 

Must  be  just  and  reasonable 9,28,30 

Of  property  of  carriers  for  valuation 37 

Of  telegraph  and  telephone  messages 8 

Printing  and  posting . 15 

Classified  service,  district  inspectors  under 97 

Clayton  antitrust  act 62 

Clerical  assistance,  boiler-inspection  act 97 

Collisions  must  be  reported  and  investigated . 86 

Combination : 

For  pooling  of  freights  and  division  of  earnings 13 

To  break  bulk,  unlawful,  unless  in  good  faith 20-21 

Commerce : 

Federal  Trade  Commission  to  enforce  compliance  with  Clayton  anti- 
trust act  where  applicable  to  other   than  common  carriers  and 

banks 68 

Person  engaged  in,  not  to  discriminate  in  prices 62 

Commerce  Court: 

Abolished 50 

Books,  dockets,  etc.,  sent  to  Department  of  Justice 53 

Cases  pending  in.  transferred  to  district  courts,  exceptions 53 

Cases  remanded  by  Supreme  Court  to  district  courts 53 

Jurisdiction  of,  transferred  to  district  courts 50 

No  successors  to  judges  to  be  appointed 50 

Tenure  of  office  of  judges  not  affected 50 

Commercial  messages,  telegraph,  etc 8-9 

Commissioners : 

Method  of  appointment  and  term 24,48 

Not  more  than  four  from  same  political  party 48 

One  or  more  may  sign  subpoena 36 

Qualifications  of - 24,  46 

Salary  of 36 

Committee,  medals  of  honor  act 89 

Commodities  clause ._  li 

Common  carriers : 

Commission  to  enforce  compliance  with  Clayton  antitrust  act  where 

applicable  to 68, 

Complaints  by — 27 

Defined 17, 90 

Duty  to  observe  and  comply  with  orders 34 

Embezzlement  by  President,  etc.,  of  felony 66 

Includes  receivers,  ash-pan  act 93 

Subject  to  act 7 

To  include  express  and  sleeping-car  companies 8 

Commutation  tickets,  issuance  of,  not  prohibited 46 

Companies,  complaints  to  Commission  by 27 

Compensation : 

Employees  transported  in  valuation  service 42 

For  short  haul  as  great  as  or  greater  than  for  long  haul 12-13 

For  switch  connection,  Commission  to  investigate 11 

Greater  or  less  than  published  tariffs 47 

Reasonable,  rules  for 8 

Competent  evidence,  report  and  decision  of  Commission 28 


110  INDEX. 

Competing  line:  pagc. 

Railroad  not  to  have  interest  in  competing  water  line 13-14 

Shipper  may  designate  routing 31 

Competition : 

Discrimination  in  prices  so  as  to  lessee 62 

Elimination  of,  by  interlocking  directorates 65 

Penalty  for  preventing,  among  bidders 67 

Restraint  in.  by  acquisition  of  stock  of  competitor 63 

Competition  of  water  line: 

Commission  to  determine  question  of 1 14 

Reduced  rate  to  meet 13 

Competitor,   lease,   sale,   or  contract   upon   condition  not   to   deal   with. 

unlawful 62,  H3 

Complaints  to  Commission: 

Answer  of  carrier  in  writing 27 

Based  on  violation  of  the  act 27 

By  whom  made 27 

Concurrent  remedy  with  suit  in  court 21 

Government-aided  lines,  discrimination 74 

How  made  and  served 27 

Investigation   of 27 

No  dismissal,  because  no  direct  damage  to  complainant 28 

Procedure  for  investigating  under  Clayton  antitrust  act 68 

Proposed   rates 29 

Satisfaction  of,  by  carrier 27 

Compliance,  time  for : 

Hours  of  service  act 91 

Safety-appliance  act 81,  84,  85 

Compulsory-testimony    act 54 

Concessions : 

By  carriers  in  consideration  for  grants 39 

Unlawful  to  give  or  receive 56 

Conclusions,   report   shall   state 28 

Concurrence  in  joint  tariffs 17 

Condemnation  cost  of  property  of  carriers . 38 

Conflicting  laws  repealed 49.  54,  60,  77 

Congress : 

Annual  report  of  Commission  to 46 

Right  to  amend  or  repeal  Government-aided  railroad  acts 77 

Valuation  report  of  Commission  to 39 

Connecting  lines : 

Discrimination  between,   forbidden 12 

Initial  carrier  liable  for  loss  or  damage 45 

Interchange  of  traffic  between 12 

Recourse  against,  by  initial  line 45 

Refusal  of  cars  from 79 

Use  of  tracks  or  terminal  facilities  of  another  carrier 12 

Connecting  telegraph  lines  with  Government-aided  lines 73 

Connecting  tracks,  terms,  and  conditions  of  construction 19 

Connivance  by  shipper  with  carrier 23 

Consideration,  as  a  rebate  from  published  tariffs  forbidden 58 

Consignee : 

False  billing  by,  etc.,  declared  a  misdemeanor 23 

Information  concerning  shipment  of,  not  to  be  disclosed 31-32 

Unjust  discrimination  against,  induced  by  other  shipper 24 


INDEX.  Ill 

Consignor :  Page. 

False  billing,  etc.,  declared  a  misdemeanor 23 

Unjust  discrimination  against,  induced  by  otber  shipper 24 

Construction : 

Branch  or  short  lines  by  main  lines,  not  prohibited 64 

If  part  of  act  held  invalid,  other  parts  shall  not  be  affected 73 

Contempt,  refusal  to  appear  and  testify 25-26 

Contents  of  package,  false  representation,  a  misdemeanor 23 

Continuous  carriage: 

By  rail  and  water  lines 7 

Device  to  prevent,  unlawful 20-21 

Continuous  service,  hours  of  service  act 90 

Contracts : 

And  agreement  to  be  filed  with  Commission 17 

Annual  report  of  carrier  concerning 43 

Carrier  prohibited  from  purchasing  from  another  corporation  hav- 
ing same  officers - 66 

Commission  may  require  production  of 25 

Conditioned  upon  purchaser  not  to  deal  with  competitor-  _      62 

Exchange  of  services 9 

Exempting  carrier  from  liability 45 

Filed  with  Commission  are  public  records 35 

For  pooling  of  freight  and  division  of  earnings 13 

For  use  of  cars,  facilities,  etc 8 

No  person  excused  from  producing 54 

Of  Government-aided  lines  to  be  filed  with  the  Commission^   76 

Road  operated  under,  included  in  term  "railroad" 8 

To  be  furnished  to  Commission  by  carriers 39 

To  break  bulk,  unlawful  if  to  defeat  continuous  carriage 20-21 

Ultra  vires,  of  Government-aided  lines 75 

Control  of  competing  water  carrier,  railroad  not  to  have _ 13-14 

Cooperation  by  carriers  in  valuation  work  required    39 

Copies  of  maps,  etc.,  to  be  furnished  to  Commission  by  carriers 39 

Copies  of  records,  certified,  received  as  originals 35 

Corporate  organization,  history  of,  in  valuation  report 38 

Corporations : 

Complaints  to  Commission  by 27 

Liable  under  Elkins  Act 56 

Penalty  of  imprisonment  shall  not  apply  to 23 

Same  person  not  to  be  director  in  two  or  more 65 

Subsidy  or  donation  from,  to  carriers 38-39 

Subsidiary  formation  of,  not  prohibited 63 

Correction  of  valuation 40 

Cost,  false  representation  by  shippers 23 

Cost  of  carriers'  property,  original  and  reproduction 38 

Costs : 

And  expenses  of  prosecution 25.34 

Attorney's  fees,  collected  as  part  of 21,33 

Condemnation  of  property  of  carriers 38 

Depositions 27 

Petitioner  not  liable  for,  unless  on  his  appeal 33 

Counsel  fee,  liability  of  carrier 21,33 

County,  donation  from,  to  carriers 38-39 


112 


INDEX. 


Couplers :  Pa^e- 

Act  applies  where  brought  together 81 

Cars  must  be  equipped  with  automatic "79 

Courts.     (See  also  District  courts.) 

Commerce **"'  ^ 

Commission  may  apply  to,  for  enforcement  of  order  under  Clayton 

Antitrust  Act 69 


District. 


50 

Evidence  different  from  Commission's  valuation  sent  to  Commission.  41 

Final  valuation  prima  facie  evidence 41 

Order  for  payment  of  money  to  be  enforced  in 33 

Remedy  in  Commission  or 21 

Scope  of  jurisdiction  in  prosecutions 57 

Supreme 52.53 

To  compel  witnesses  to  attend  and  testify 25 

Criminal  provisions 10, 18,  22,  23,  24,  44,  54,  56,  57, 95 

Criminate,  that  testimony  may,  no  excuse 21,26,54,59 

Custody,  records  filed  with  Commission  in  secretary's 35 

Customs  duties,  when  domestic  freight  subject  to 16 

Customs  inspectors,  passes  to 9-10 

Damages : 

Action  for,  against  Government-aided  lines 76 

Award  of,  Commission  may  make 33 

Bringing  a  suit  for 21.  33.  59 

Caused  by  misstating  rate 18 

Caused  by  shippers  inducing  carriers  to  discriminate 24 

Caused  by  violation  of  the  act 21 

Complaints  for,  to  be  filed  within  two  years 33 

Complaints  not  to  be  dismissed  because  no  direct  damage 28 

Election  of  remedies 21 

Enforcement  of  award  in  court 33 

Exemption  of  carrier  from  liability 45 

Initial  carrier  liable  on  through  shipments 45 

Issuance   of   temporary   restraining   order,   without   notice,   against. 

under  Clayton  Antitrust  Act 72 

Joint  liability  for 

Report  shall  include  finding  of  fact 28 

Suit  against  person  receiving  rebate 58 

Suit  on  award,  what  petition  shall  state 33 

Damage  suits: 

Boiler-inspection  reports  not  evidence  in 100 

Accident  reports  not  evidence  in 87 

Data,  valuation  of  Commission,  public  inspection  of 40 

Debts,  funded  and  floating,  annual  report  of  carrier  shall  show 42 

Decision,  equal  division  of  court  under  expediting  act 61 

Decision  of  Commission,  report  in  writing 28 

Decisions  of  Commission  to  be  published  and  be  competent  as  evidence 

Dedication  to  public  use  of  property  of  carriers,  time  of 

Default  of  carrier  to  appoint  Washington  agent 49 

Defective : 

qq 

Boilers  shall  not  be  used 

Cars  may  be  hauled  to  nearest  repair  point 

Delivering  passengers  and  property  from  connecting  line „,^__  12 


I 


INDEX.  113 

Delivery  of  property  :  page> 

For  transportation 9 

Included  in  term  "transportation" g 

Wholly  within  one  State 7_8 

Department  of  Justice,  Commerce-Court  property  transferred  to 53 

Deposition : 

False,  by  shipper  to  obtain  refund,  etc 23 

Fees  of  officers,  etc ! 27 

Foreign   country 26 

Testimony  taken  by 26 

Depots,  yards,  and  grounds  included  with  term  "  railroad  " 8 

Depreciation,  property  of  carriers , 38 

Derailments  must  be  reported 86 

Designation  of  Washington  agent  filed  in  office  of  secretary 49 

Designs  for  medals 90 

Destination,  defined 51 

Destitute  persons,  passes  to 46 

Destroying  records  of  carrier,  misdemeanor 44 

Destruction  of  records,  Commission  may  permit 45 

Device : 

By  carrier  to  obtain  transportation  at  less  than  regular  rates 23 

By  carrier  to  permit  transportation  at  less  than  regular  rates 22 

To  collect  greater  or  less  compensation,  unlawful 12 

To  depart  from  the  published  tariffs,  misdemeanor 57 

To  prevent  continuous  carriage,  unlawful 20-21 

To  rebate,  forbidden 17 

Different  compensation  from  tariff  rate 17 

Director : 

Bank,  eligibility  of 64 

Corporation,  eligibility  of 65 

In  more  than  one  bank  prohibited 64 

In  more  than  one  bank  where  entire  capital  stock  is  owned  by  the 

other 65 

Private,  and  bank  organized  under  United  States  laws 65 

Private  bank 65 

Same  person  not  to  be  in  two  or  more  corporations 65 

Disabled  employees  of  carriers,  passes  to 10 

Disadvantage,  unreasonble  or  unlawful,  forbidden 12 

Disclosing  information : 

Concerning  shipments 31-32 

Penalty  for  examiner 45 

Discontinuance  of  discrimination  by  order  of  court 59 

Discriminate,  shipper  inducing  carrier  to,  misdemeanor 24 

Discrimination : 

Between  connecting  lines  forbidden 12 

Forbidden  by  telegraph-line  connection  with  Government-aided  line__  74 

Lake  Erie  &  Ohio  River  Ship  Canal  not  to  make 77 

None  by  persons  engaged  in  commerce  in  price  of  commodities 62 

Penalty  for  inducing 24 

Unjust  by  special  rate,  rebate,  drawback,  or  device 12 

Unlawful,  fine  or  imprisonment  for 22 

Unlawful  to  give  or  receive 56 

66170°— 14 8 


114  INDEX. 

District  attorneys: 

Duty  under —  Page. 

Ash-pan  act 92 

Boiler-inspection  act 100 

Hours-of-service   act 91 

Safety-appliance  acts 80,  82,  85 

To  prosecute  for  recovery  of  forfeitures 34 

To  prosecute  under  direction  of  Attorney  General 25,34 

District  courts : 

Appeal  from 52 

Commerce  Court  jurisdiction  and  cases  transferred  to 50.53 

Duties  under  Elkins  Act 61 

Jurisdiction  act 50 

Jurisdiction — 

Ash-pan  act 92 

Boiler-inspection  act 100 

Clayton  antitrust  act 66 

Hours-of-service  act 91 

Safety-appliance   acts 80 

To  restrain  violation  of  Clayton  antitrust  act 70 

Mandamus  to  compel  compliance  with  act 41,45,47 

Procedure  involving  Commission's  orders 51 

To  compel  by  mandamus  compliance  with  valuation  provisions 41 

District  of  Columbia : 
Included  in — 

Ash-pan  act 92 

Boiler-inspection  act 97 

Safety-appliance  acts 81 

Valuation  of  carrier's  property  in 39 

District  inspectors,  boiler-inspection  act,  duties,  etc 97,98 

Districts,  United  States,  divided  into,  boiler-inspection  act 97 

Divided  court  under  expediting  act 61 

Dividends  paid,  annual  report  of  carriers  shall  show 42 

Division  of  earnings  and  pooling  of  freights 13 

Division  of  rates,  Commission  may  prescribe 29-30 

Dockets,  Commerce  Court,  to  Department  of  Justice 53 

Docks,  physical  connections  with  rail  carrier 19 

Documentary  evidence : 

Commission  may  require  production  of 25,39 

Courts  may  compel  production  of 25 

No  person  excused  from  producing- 54 

Penalty  for  refusing  to  produce 54 

Domestic  freight,  when  subject  to  customs  duties 16 

Donation  to  carriers  from  the  United  States,  etc.,  value  of 38-39 

Drawback : 

Lake  Erie  &  Ohio  River  Ship  Canal,  not  to  grant 77 

Unlawful 12 

Drawbars : 

Commission  may  modify  height  of 84 

Standard  height  of 80,81 

Driving-wheel  brakes,  engines  must  be  equipped  with 79 

Duty  and  power  of  Commission 25 


INDEX.  115 

Page. 

Duty,  period  of,  hours-of-service  act 90 

Dynamite  under  explosives  act 93 

Earning  of  carriers: 

Annual  reports  of  carriers  shall  show 43 

Division  of,  and  pooling  of  freights 13 

Monthly  reports  of  carriers 43 

Valuation  report  to  show 38 

Effective  date  of  act 49 

Effective  date,  interlocking  directorates 66 

Election  of  remedies  for  damages  caused  by  violations 21 

Eleemosynary : 

Institutions,  passes  to  inmates  of 9 

Work,  passes  to  persons  engaged  in 9 

Electric  locomotives  excepted  from  ash-pan  act 93 

Electric  passenger  railways,  street,  through  route  and  joint  rate  with 30 

Elements  of  valuation : 38 

Elevation,  included  in  term  "transportation" 8 

Eligibility  of  director,  officer,  or  employee 64,65 

Elkins  Act 56 

Embezzlement,  president,  etc.,  of  common  carrier,  felony 66 

Emergency  cases,  hours-of-service  act 91 

Employee : 

Bank,   eligibility  of 64 

In  more  than  one  bank,  prohibited 64 

In  more  than  one  bank  where  entire  capital  stock  is  owned  by  the 

other 65 

Private  bank,  and  bank  organized  under  United  States  laws 65 

Employees  of  carriers : 

Carriers'  annual  report  shall  show  salaries,  etc 42 

Defined,   boiler-inspection  act 96 

Defined,  hours-of-service  act 90 

Duty  to  observe  and  comply  with  Commission's  orders 34. 

Killed  in  service,  pass  for  remains 10 

Passes  to — -   9, 10, 46, 47 

Period  of  duty,  hours-of-service  act 90 

Subject  to  penalties  for  violating  law 22,  23,  24 

What  term  "  employee  "  includes 10 

Employees  of  Commission: 

Commission's  annual  report  to  show  names,  etc 46 

Commission  may  hire  and  fix  compensation  of 36,  37,  44,  45 

Commission  may  hire  to  investigate  block  signals 101 

Employment,  Commissioners  shall  have  no  other 25 

Employment  of  inspectors: 

Boiler-inspection  act 96,  97 

Safety-appliance  acts 86 

Enforcement  of  act 25 

Enforcement : 

Ash-pan  act 92,  93 

Boiler-inspection  act 100 

Hours-of-service  act 92 

Safety-appliance  acts 85 

Entry,  false  by  shipper  to  obtain  refund,  etc 23 

Epidemic,  carrying  passengers  free  in  case  of 10 


116  INDEX. 

Equal  facilities:  page. 

For  interchange  of  traffic 12 

Telegraph  line  connecting  with  Government-aided  line 74 

Equipment : 

Cost  and  value,  annual  report  of  carrier  shall  show 42 

Safety-appliance  acts 79 

Equity  suits  under  act  expedited--! 60 

Evidence : 

Court  may  order  Commission  or  board  to  hear  additional  under  Clay- 
ton antitrust  act 69 

Existing  law  for  production  of 49 

Final   valuation,  prima  facie  evidence 41 

Findings  of  fact  by  Commission,  prima  facie 33 

Findings  of  fact  under  Clayton  antitrust  act.  conclusive 69,  70 

Immunity  of  witnesses 21,26,49.54.55.59 

In  court  as  to  value  different  from  valuation  of  Commission 41 

Not  to  be  used  as,  accident  reports 87 

Not  to  be  used  as  boiler-inspection  reports 100 

Reports  and  decisions,  competent  as 28 

Special  agents  or  examiners  may  receive 37,45 

Examinations,  chief  inspector  to  prepare  questions 97 

Examiners,  special: 

Commission   may   employ 37,44 

Penalty  for  divulging  information 45 

Testimony  taken  before 37.45 

Exceptions : 

Ash-pan  act 93 

Explosives  act 94 

Hours-of-service    act 91 

Permitting  use  of  chains,  safety-appliance  acts 85 

Safety-appliance  acts 80,  82 

Excess  baggage 9 

Exchange  of  cars 8-9 

Exchange  of  service  between  common  carrier  and  telegraph  companies, 

etc 9 

Excursion  tickets,  not  prohibited 46 

Exemployees,  entering  service  of  carrier,  passes  to 10 

Exempting  carrier  from  liability 45 

Expediting  act , 60 

Expediting  case,  hearing  on,  temporary  restraining  order  under  Clayton 

antitrust  act 72 

Expediting  cases  involving  increased  rates 30 

Expediting  cases  under  Clayton  antitrust  act 70 

Expenditures  of  carriers,  valuation  reports  shall  show 38 

Expenses : 

Monthly  report  of 43 

Of  Commission  and  employees 37 

Of  prosecution 34 

Operating  and  other,  annual  report  of  carrier  shall  show 43 

Experts  for  valuation  work,  Commission  may  employ 37 

Explosive  act.     (See  Transportation-of -explosives  act.) 
Explosives : 

Commission  to  regulate  packing,  etc 94 

Not  to  be  carried  on  passenger  vehicles 93 


INDEX.  117 

» 

Page. 
Export  traffic,  subject  to  act 7-8 

Exposition,  free  or  reduced  rates  for 46 

Express  cars,  employees  on,  passes  to 9-10 

Express  companies,  common  carriers 8 

Extension  of  order  suspending  increased  rates 30 

Extensions,  valuation  of  carriers 40 

Facilities: 

Equal,  Government-aided  telegraph  lines 74 

For  interchange  of  traffic 12 

For  transportation 9 

None  furnished  unless  specified  in  tariffs 17 

Of  shipment  included  in  term  "transportation" : 8 

To  be  specified  in  schedules 15-16 

Fairs,  free  or  reduced  rates  for 46 

False : 

Billing,  etc.,  by  carrier  or  shipper 22-23 

Entry  in  accounts : 44 

Families  of  carrier's  employees : 

Passes   to 9, 10, 46 

What  included  in  term  "families" * 10 

Fares : 

Annual  report  of  carrier  concerning 43 

Maximum,   Commission  may  prescribe 29 

Must  be  just  and  reasonable 8 

Posting  and  filing 15,16 

Public  records,  when  filed 35 

Rules  and   regulations  affecting 15-16 

Unless  filed,  carrier  not  to  transport 17 

Federal  reserve  banks,  directors  of,  being  directors  in  other  banks 65 

Federal  Reserve  Board,  to  enforce  compliance  with  Clayton  antitrust  act 

where  applicable  to  banks 68 

Federal  Trade  Commission  to  enforce  compliance  with  Clayton  antitrust 
act  where  applicable  to  commerce  other  than  commerce  carriers  and 

banks.,-— i 68 

Feeders,  main  lines  may  acquire 64 

Fees: 

Attorneys,  part  of  costs 21,33 

Witnesses 37 

Witnesses  making  depositions 27 

Felony,  embezzlement  by  president,  etc.,  of  common  carrier 66 

Ferries  included  in  term  "railroad" 8 

Filing  tariffs  with  Commission 15,47 

Final  valuation  of  carriers'  property 40,41 

Financial  arrangements  for  issuance  of  stocks,  etc 38 

Financial  operations,  annual  reports  of  carriers  shall  show 42 

Financial  reports,  accidents  not  reported  in 86 

Finding  of  fact : 

Conclusive  under  Clayton  antitrust  act 69,70 

In  report,  in  case  damages  awarded 28 

Prima  facie  in  suits  involving  order  for  payment  of  money 33 

Firms,  complaints  to  Commission  by 27 

Floating  debt,  annual  report  of  carrier 42 

Foreign  commerce  defined 87 


118  INDEX. 

Foreign  country:  Page. 

Deposition  of  witness  in 26 

Printing  of  rates  through 16 

Transportation  to 7 

Forfeiture : 

Failure  to  comply  with  valuation  section 41 

Failure  to  file  annual  reports 43 

Failure  to  keep  records  and  accounts 44 

No  person  testifying  subject  to 54,55 

Payable  into  Treasury  and  recoverable  in  civil  suit 34 

Penalty  for  giving  rebate 56 

Form : 

Accounts,  etc.,  Commission  may  prescribe 44 

Addressing  agent,  when  name  not  posted 19 

Of  schedules 9, 17 

Of  valuation  results 39 

Forwarding  passengers  and  property  from  connecting  line 12 

Franchises,  cost  and  value,  annual  report  of  carrier  shall  show 42 

Franks,  privilege  not  prohibited 10 

Free: 

Baggage  under  mileage  tickets 47 

Transportation  prohibited;  excepted  classes 9,10,46 

Freight  depot  included  in  term  "  railroad" 8 

Freights,  annual  report  of  carrier 43 

Fruit,  necessary  caretakers,  passes  to 9-10 

Fulminate  in  bulk  under  explosives  act 94 

Funded  debt,  annual  report  of  carrier 42 

Funds,  embezzlement  of,  by  president,  etc.,  of  common  carrier 66 

Furloughed  employees  of  carriers,  passes  to 10 

Furnishing  cars 8, 11 

Fuses  under  explosives  act 94 

Gas  transportation,  not  subject  to  act 7 

Gift  to  carriers  from  "United  States,  etc.,  value  of 38,39 

Government : 

Free  or  reduced  rates 46 

Messages  by  telegraph,  etc 8-9 

Government-aided  railroad  and  telegraph  line  act 73 

Governor  of  State,  notice  to,  of  tentative  valuation 40 

Grab  irons  must  be  provided : 

On  all  cars 80 

On  top  of  ladders 83 

Grants  from  United  States,  valuation  report  to  show 38 

Greater  compensation : 

For  shorter  than  for  longer  haul 12 

Than  tariff  rate 17 

Gross  earnings,  valuation  report  shall  show 38 

Grounds  and  yards  included  in  term  "  railroad" 8 

Gunpowder  under  explosives  act 93 

Hand  brakes,  cars  must  be  equipped  with 83 

Handholds : 

Cars  must  be  equipped  with 83 

Must  be  provided  with,  or  unlawful  to  use  car 80 

Handling  explosives  in  transit,  Commission  to  regulate 94 


INDEX.  119 

Handling  of  property :  Page. 

Included  in  term  "transportation" 8 

Regulations  affecting 9 

Wholly  within  one  State 7-8 

Hearing : 

Before  three  judges  to  expedite  suits  in  equity 61 

Full  hearing  provided  for 20,  28 

On  petition  to  restrain  violations  of  Clayton  antitrust  act 71 

On  protest  of  valuation  of  carriers 40 

Preference  as  to  reasonableness  of  increased  rates 30 

Protest  of  valuation 40 

Report  of  findings  under  Clayton  antitrust  act  to  be  in  writing 68 

Temporary  restraining  order,  without  notice,  under  Clayton  antitrust 

act 72 

History  of  carriers,  valuation  report  shall  show 38 

Homeless  person,  pass  to 9,46 

Homes  for  soldiers  and  sailors,  passes  to  inmates  of 9,46 

Hospital,  inmates  of,  passes  to_' 9 

Hours  of  service  act 90-92 

Common  carriers  subject 90 

Compliance  with  act 91 

Continuous  service 90 

Employees  defined 90 

Enforcement 92 

Exceptions  to  act 91 

Off  duty 91 

Penalty   for   violation 91 

Prosecutions 91 

"  Railroad  "  defined 90 

Service  hours 91 

Telephone  and  telegraph  operators 91 

Icing : 

Charges  to  be  printed 15-16 

Included  in  term  "transportation" 8 

Immigration  inspectors,  passes  to 9-10 

Immunity  from  prosecution,  witnesses  entitled  to,  in  certain  cases 21, 

26,  54,  55,  59 

Import  traffic,  subject  to  act 7-8 

Improvements  : 

Valuation  of  carriers 40 

In  carriers'  property 42 

Increased  rates: 

Burden  of  proof  on  carrier,  as  reasonableness  of 30 

By  railroads,  elimination  of  water  competition 13 

Incrimination,  no  person  excused  from  testifying  by  fear  of 21,  26,  54 

Indigent  persons,  passes  to 9,46 

Infirm  employees  of  carriers,  passes  to 10 

Information : 

Commission  may  require  of  carriers  on  valuation 40 

Concerning  business  methods  of  carrier 25 

Concerning    shipment,    disclosure    of 31,32 

In  relation  to  rates,  etc.,  annual  reports  of  carriers  shall  contain 43 

Special  examiner,  who  divulges,  penalty 45 

Value  of  property,  may  be  required 40 


120  INDEX. 

Initial  carrier:  Page. 

Bill  of  lading  to  be  issued  by 31,45 

Liable  for  loss  or  damage  on  through  shipments 45 

May  have  recourse  upon  carrier  responsible  for  loss  or  damage 45 

Injunction : 

By  district  court,  involving  Commission's  order 51 

Commission's  orders,  appeal 51,52 

Preliminary,  not  to  issue  without  notice  under  Clayton  antitrust  act-  71 

Reasons  for  issuance  shall  be  specific  under  Clayton  antitrust  act 72 

Relief  by,  against  loss  and  damage  under  Clayton  antitrust  act 71 

To  restrain  rebates 58 

Temporary — violations  of  Clayton  antitrust  act 71 

Injured  person,  hurt  in  wreck,  pass  to 9-10 

Injury : 

Accidents  to  persons,  etc.,  to  be  reported 86 

False  statement  of,  by  shipper 23 

Initial  carrier  liable  for,  on  through  shipments 45 

Inmates  of  hospitals,  etc.,  passes  to 9 

Inquiry : 

Commission  may  institute,  on  its  own  motion 20,  27,  74 

May  be  prosecuted  by  one  or  more  Commissioners 37 

Inspection : 

By  carriers 98 

Must  be  made,  boiler-inspection  act 96 

Inspectors : 

Chief.     (See  also  Chief  inspector.) 
District.     (See  also  District  inspector.) 

Enforce    safety-appliance   acts 86 

On  medals  of  honor  committee 89 

One  for  each  district,  boiler-inspection  act 97 

Post-office,  customs,  and  immigration,  passes  to 10 

Shall  not  be  interested  in  patented  appliances 97 

To  investigate  under  medals  of  honor  act 89 

Instrumentalities : 

Allowance  to  person  furnishing 32 

Included  in  term  "transportation" 8 

Insular  possessions,  Clayton  antitrust  act,  applicable  to 62 

Interchange : 

Of  cars 8 

Passes  authorized 10, 46, 47 

Telegraph  business  with  Government-aided  line 74 

Traffic,  between  rail  and  water  lines 20 

Traffic,    facilities    for 12 

Interchangeable  tickets 47 

Interest : 

Complainant's  lack  of,  no  ground  for  dismissal 28 

On  debts,  annual  report  of  carrier 42 

Railroads  not  to  have  any,  in  competing  water  lines 13-14 

Interlocking  directorates 64,  65 

Interlocutory  injunction,  Commission's  order 51,52 

Intermediate   railroad,    through   route  to   include 31 

Intermediate  rates,  through  rates  in  excess  of 12 


INDEX.  121 

Interstate  Commerce  Commission:  Page. 

Annual  reports  to  Congress 46 

Appointment  of  Commissioners 24 

Approve — 

Examinations  for  district  inspectors 97 

Rules  for  boiler  inspection 98 

Authority  to  relieve,  from  fourth  section 13 

Bids  for  purchases  between  corporations  to  be  supervised  by 67 

Carrier's  agent's  name  filed  in  office  of 49 

Chief  inspector  shall  make  annual  report  to 99 

Commissioners  not  to  engage  in  other  business 24-25 

Compensation  to  be  fixed  by,  for  transporting  employees  in  valuation 

service 42 

Consent  of,  to  change  rate  of  parcel  post 78 

Creation  of 24 

Designate   appliances 83 

District  inspectors  appointed  by 97 

Duty  of— 

Accident-report  act 87 

Ash-pan   act 93 

Hours-of-service  act 91,  92 

Safety-appliance  acts 85 

Employees  of 34,  36,  37, 44,  45 

Enlargement  of,  provided  for 48 

Enumeration  of  powers  not  exclusive 32 

Expenses,  how  paid 37 

Final  appeal  to,  boiler-inspection  act 99 

Information  as" to  violations  of  ash-pan  act 93 

Investigate  accidents 86 

Jurisdiction  as  to  safety-appliance  acts 85 

May  apply  to  court  for  enforcement  of  order 35 

May   determine   elements   of   classification   and   form    of   valuation 

results 39 

May  determine  its  own  procedure 36,37,39 

May  establish  through  routes  and  joint  rates 30 

May  extend  time  for  compliance — 

Safety-appliance  acts 81,  84 

Hours-of-service  act 91 

May  grant  rehearing 35 

May  institute  inquiry  on  its  own  motion 27 

May  modify  requirements  of  section  6 16-17 

May  order  switch  connection,  if  practicable 11 

May  order  testimony  taken  by  deposition 26 

May  prescribe  division  of  joint  rates 30 

May  prescribe  maximum  charges 29 

May  prescribe  uniform  system  of  accounts 42,43 

May  suspend  and  determine  propriety  of  new  rates 29 

May  suspend  or  modify  its  orders 34 

Not  more  than  four  commissioners  from  same  political  party 48 

Pecuniary  interest  of  Commissioner 36 

Prescribe  form  of  accident  reports 87 

Production  of  books,  papers,  etc.,  before 25,54 

Quorum,  majority  constitutes 36 


122  INDEX. 

Interstate  Commerce  Commission — Continued.  Page. 

Regulations  for  transportation  of  explosives 94 

Remaining  Commissioners  to  exercise  all  powers .. 25 

Report  and  decisions  to  be  published,  etc 28 

Reports  of  purchases  by  carriers  to 67 

Reports  to  Congress  on  physical  valuation  work 39 

Salary  of  Commissioners 48 

Term  of  office  of  Commissioners,  seven  years 36,48 

To  approve  charges  of  Lake  Erie  &  Ohio  River  Ship  Canal 77 

To  determine  question  of  competition  between  rail  and  water  lines 14 

To  enforce  compliance  with  Clayton  antitrust  act.  where  applicable 

to  common  carrier 68 

To  inquire  into  management  of  business 25 

To  investigate  and  report  value  of  property  of  carriers 37 

To  investigate  block-signal  systems 101 

Vacancies  provided  for 48 

Valuation  of  carriers'  property  by 37 

Violation  of  hours-of-service  act 91 

Interstate  commerce  defined 87 

Interveners,  proceedings  before  Commission  or  board  under  Clayton  anti- 
trust act 68 

Inventory  of  property  of  carriers 37 

Investigation : 

Commission  may  institute,  on  its  own  motion 20,  27,  74 

Commission  to  investigate  practicability,  etc.,  for  switch  connection.  11 

Commission's  power  to  investigate  accidents 86 

Defective  boiler  accidents 100 

In  such  manner  and  by  such  means  as  it  shall  deem  proper 27 

Medals-of-honor  committee  may  conduct 90 

Of  new  schedules 29 

Physical  valuation  of  property 37 

To  determine  question  of  competition  between  rail  and  water  carrier.  14 

Investment,  acquiring  stock  for  purposes  of,  not  prohibited 63 

Irreparable  damage,  issuance  of  temporary  restraining  order  without  no- 
tice against,  under  Clayton  antitrust  act 72 

Joint  classification,  Commission  may  establish 29,30 

Joint  interchangeable  5,000-mile  tickets,  issuance  of 47 

Joint  plaintiffs  may  sue  joint  defendants  in  courts  on  awards  of  damages-  33 
Joint  rates : 

Between  rail  aud  water  carrier  to  foreign  country  via  Panama  Canal-  20 

Commission  may  establish 30 

Commission  may  prescribe  maximum 29 

Divisions    of 29,  30 

Notice  of  change 16 

Printing  and  posting  schedules : 15 

Rail  and  water  carriers 20 

Joint  suit,  judgment  against  defendant  found  liable 34 

Joint  tariffs  must  name  carriers  participating 17 

Jointly  liable,  carrier  and  shipper,  for  unjust  discrimination 24 

Judges,  no  successors  to,  of  former  Commerce  Court 50 

Judgment,  joint  suit,  recovery  against  defendant  found  liable 34 

Judicial  notice,  Commission's  seal 36 


INDEX.  123 

Jurisdiction  (see  also  Interstate  Commerce  Commission)  :  Page. 

Circuit  and  district  courts  for  writ  of  mandamus 47 

Circuit  court  of  appeals — 

For  enforcement  of,  under  Claytou  antitrust  act 69 

Under  Clayton  antitrust  act,  exclusive 70 

Commerce  Court  transferred  to  district  courts 50 

District  courts — 

For  violation  of  act 22 

To  restrain  violations  of  Clayton  antitrust  act 70 

Offenses  under  pass  provision 10 

State  and  Federal  courts,  Clayton  antitrust  act 66 

Traffic  through  Panama  Canal 19 

Just  and  reasonable  charges 8 

Justification  of  switch  connection,  Commission  to  investigate 11 

Laboratory  samples  under  explosive  act 94 

Ladders,  cars  must  be  equipped  with 83 

Lake  Erie  &  Ohio  River  Ship  Canal  act 77 

Land  grants: 

Allowances  and  concession  in  consideration  of 39 

Value  of 39 

Lands  of  carriers,  valuation  of 38 

Lateral  line,  application  of,  for  switch  connection 11 

Lease: 

Conditioned  upon  lessee  not  to  deal  with  competitor,  unlawful 62 

On  competing  water  line,  railroad  not  to  have 13-14 

Leased  line  included  in  term  "railroad" 8 

Legal  rate,  rate  filed  held  to  be 57 

Legislation,  recommendation  for  additional 46 

Less  compensation : 

For  longer  than  for  shorter  haul 12 

Than  tariff  rate 17 

Letter : 

Notice  of  tentative  valuation  by  registered 40 

Telegraph,    etc 8-9 

Liability: 

Carrier  not  relieved  from 84 

Exempting  carrier  from 45 

Existing,  not  affected 50 

Initial  line  for  damage 45 

Liens  of  Government  on  Government-aided  telegraph  lines 74 

Life  saving  on  railroads 88 

Limitations : 

Complaints  for  the  recovery  of  damages  filed  within  two  years 33 

One  year  for  enforcement  of  order  for  payment  of  money 33 

Six  years  in  rebate  cases 58 

Limitation  of  actions,  hours-of-service  act 91 

Limitation  of  liability  of  carrier 45 

Linemen  of  telegraph  and  telephone  companies,  passes  to 9-10 

Live  stock: 

Hauling  defective  cars  by  chains  permitted 85 

Necessary  caretakers,  passes  to 9-10 

Loading  explosives,  Commission  to  regulate 94 


124  INDEX. 

Page. 

Local  rates,  through  rate  in  excess  of  combination  of 12 

Locomotives  (see  also  Ash-pan  act;  Boiler-inspection  act)  : 

Excepted  from  ash-pan  act 93 

Must  be  provided  with  ash  pan 92 

Power  driving-wheel  brakes 79 

Long  and  short  haul  provision 12 

Long  commodities,  brakes  on  cars  used  in  haulini: 83 

Loss  and  damages,  injunctive  relief  against,  under  antitrust  act 71 

Mailable  matter  under  parcel  post 78 

Mail  Service,  Railway,  passes  to  employees 9-10 

Management  of  business,  Commission  to  inquire  into 25 

Mandamus : 

District  courts  to  compel  by  compliance  with  valuation  provision 41.42 

Peremptory  writ,  when  used 48 

Remedy  shall  be  cumulative 48 

To  compel  carrier  to  comply  with  act 45,48,74 

To  compel  furnishing  of  cars  and  movement  of  traffic 48 

To  enforce  order  of  Commission  against  Government-aided  lines 74 

Manufactured  products  of  timber  excepted  from  commodities  clause 11 

Maps  to  be  furnished  to  Commission  by  carriers 39 

Marking  explosives,  Commission  to  regulate 94,95 

Marking  packages  for  transportation 9 

Maximum  rates  and  charges,  Commission  may  prescribe 29 

Medals  of  honor  act 88,90 

Applications  for  medals,  with  affidavits 89 

Approval  of  President 90 

Committee  to  consider  affidavits 89 

Design  of  medal 88,90 

Expense  provided  for 88 

Investigation  by  inspectors 90 

Life-saving,  medals  for SS 

President  to  grant 88 

Proof  must  be  offered : 88 

Regulations  governing  awards 89 

Rosettes  and  ribbons 88 

Memoranda : 

Commission's  agents  shall  have  access  to 39 

Form  of,  Commission  may  prescribe 44 

Mileage : 

For  witnesses 37 

Tickets,  issuance  of,  not  prohibited 47 

Military  traffic,  to  be  expedited  in  time  of  war 18 

Milk,  passes  to  necessary  caretakers  of 9-10 

Ministers  of  religion,  passes  to 9,46 

Minor  children  of  deceased  employees  of  carriers,  passes  to 10 

Misdemeanor : 

Committed  by  corporation 56 

Common  carrier  and  officer  purchasing,  etc.,  without  bids 67 

Discrimination  by  Government-aided  lines 75 

Failure  to  publish  rates 56 

Failure  to  report  accidents 86 


INDEX.  125 

Misdemeanor — Continued.  page. 

For  carrier  to  permit  transportation  at  less  than  regular  rates 22 

For  disclosing  information  concerning  shipments 32 

Mutilation  of  records 44 

Shipper  inducing  carrier  to  discriminate 24 

To  give  or  receive  rebates 56 

To  obtain  less  than  regular  rates  by  shipper 23 

Violation  of  act 22 

Violation  of  pass  provision 10 

Misstatement  of  rate,  penalty  for 18 

Modify.  Commission  may,  or  suspend  its  orders 34 

Money  damages: 

Award  of,  by  Commission 33 

Order  for  payment  of,  to  be  enforced  in  courts 33 

Money  of  carriers: 

Derived  from  sale  of  land  grants 39 

Expenditure  of,  valuation  report  shall  show 38 

Monopolies  and  restraints,  expedition  of  suits  in  equity  against 60 

Monopolies,  Clayton  antitrust  act 62 

Monopoly,  acquisition  of  stock  of  competitor,  prohibited 63 

Monthly  reports  of  accidents  act.     (See  Accidents  report  act.) 

Monthly  reports  of  earnings  and  expenses 43 

Motion,  Commission  may  institute  inquiry  on  its  own 20,27,74 

Municipal  government : 

Complaint  by 27 

Free  or  reduced  rates  for 46 

Subsidy  or  donation  from,  to  carriers 38-39 

Munitions  of  war  for  military  and  naval  forces,  explosives  act 94 

Mutilation  of  records  of  carrier,  misdemeanor 44 

Mutual  savings  bank,  directors  and  officers  in 65 

National  homes  for  soldiers,  passes  to  inmates  of 9,46 

Natural  persons,  immunity  extends  only  to 55 

Necessary  agents,  passes  to 9,46 

Net  earning,  valuation  report  shall  show 38 

Newsboys  on  trains,  passes  to 9-10 

Nitroglycerin  under  explosives  act 94 

Notice : 

Change  in  rates  by  Lake  Erie  &  Ohio  River  Ship  Canal 78 

Change  of  joint  rates 16 

Interlocutory  injunction,  application  for 51 

Issuance  of  temporary  restraining  order  without,  under  Clayton  anti- 
trust act 71 

Preliminary,  not  to  issue  without  notice  under  Clayton  Act 71 

Service  on  Washington  agents 49 

Taking  deposition 26 

To  be  given  on  completion  of  valuation  of  carriers 40 

Nurses  attending  persons  injured  in  wrecks,  passes  to 9-10 

Oaths  and  affirmations,  any  member  of  Commission  may  administer 36 

Oath: 

Accident  investigations 87 

Annual  report  of  carrier,  how  taken 44 

Annual  reports  of  carriers  to  be  under 43 

Special  agents  or  examiners,  power  to  administer 37,45 


126  INDEX. 

Offense :  Page. 

Each  day  of  agreement  for  pooling,  etc..  separate 13 

Each  day  separate,  for  failure  to  obey  order  under  section 34 

Office,  principal : 

Of  carrier,  venue  of  suit 33,34,51 

Of  Commission  in  Washington 37 

Officer : 

Bank,  eligibility  of 64 

Carrier  prohibited  from  making  purchases  with  another  corporation 

having  same 66 

Embezzlement  of  funds  by,  of  common  carrier ,. 66 

In  more  than  one  bank  whei*e  entire  stock  is  owned  by  the  other 65 

In  more  than  one  bank,  prohibited 64 

Liability  for  violation  of  act- 22 

Of  carrier,  passes  to 9,46,47 

Private  bank  and  bank  organized  under  United  States  laws 65 

Offices  and  supplies.  Commission  shall  hire  and  procure 37 

Offices  of  chief  and  district  inspectors 97 

Official  act,  entered  of  record 36 

Official  seal,  Commission  shall  have 36 

Offset  against  regular  charges  prohibited 57,58 

Oil  locomotives  excepted  from  ash-pan  act •_ 93 

Oil,  transportation,  subject  to  act 7 

Operating  reports,  accidents  not  reported  in 86 

Operation : 

Government-aided  lines 73 

Of  competing  water  line  by  railroad 13-14 

Operator,  period  of  duty,  hours  of  service  act 91 

Orders : 

Application  for  rehearing  does  not  stay 35 

Carriers  must  comply  with 34 

Commission  may  appeal  to  courts  for  enforcement  of,  under  Clayton 

antitrust  act _ 69 

Commission  may  make  an  award  of  damages 33 

Commission  may  suspend  or  modify 34,36.41 

Competition  between  rail  and  water  carrier  to  be  final 14 

District  courts  to  enforce 51 

Enforcement  of  physical  connection,  Panama  Canal 20 

Enforcement  of  order  for  payment  of  money 33 

Failure  to  comply  with 18 

Mandamus  to  enforce  against  Government-aided  lines 74 

May  be  modified  under  Clayton  antitrust  act 68 

Payment  of  money , 28 

Prescribing  maximum  charges 29 

Procedure,  petition  for,  from  enforcement  of  order  under  Clayton 

antitrust  act 70 

Report  in  writing  stating 28 

Restraining,  reasons  for  issuance,  shall  be  specific  under  Clayton 

antitrust  act 72 

Service  of  Commission's  on  agent  in  Washington 34 

Shall  continue  in  force  two  years 29 

Shall  take  effect  within  reasonable  time  for  payment  ofc,money 29 

Supplemental  orders 29 


INDEX.  127 

Orders — Continued.  Page. 

Suspension  or  annulment 41,51,52 

Switch  connection,  enforcement  of 11 

Temporary  restraining,  issuance  of,  without  notice,  under  Clayton 

antitrust  act 71 

To  be  issued  where  violation  of  antitrust  act 6S 

Under  Clayton  Act  does  not  relieve  from  antitrust  acts 70 

Organizations,  complaint  to  Commission  by 27 

Original  cost,  valuation  report  shall  show 38 

Orphan  homes  for  soldiers  and  sailors,  passes  to  inmates  of 46 

Ownership : 

Cars,  facilities,  etc 8 

Of  competing  water  line,  by  railroad 13-14 

Packages  containing  explosives  shall  be  marked 95 

Packing  explosives,  Commission  to  regulate 94 

Packing  property  for  transportation 9 

Panama  Canal : 

Jurisdiction  over  traffic  through 19 

Railroad  not  to  have  interest  in  competing  water  carrier  operated 

through  13-14 

Via,  from  port  in  United  States  to  foreign  country 20 

Violators  of  Sherman  Act  not  to  use 15 

When  certain  lines  subject  to  act 14 

Papers : 

Commerce  Court,  sent  to  Department  of  Justice 53 

Commission  may  require  production  of 25,39 

Courts  may  compel  the  production  of 25,  59 

No  person  excused  from  producing 54 

Parcel  post 78 

Parties : 

Complaints  to  Commission . 27 

Injunction  and  restraining  order  under  Clayton  antitrust  act 72 

Interested,  may  appeal  from  enforcement  of  order  under  Clayton 

antitrust  act 69 

Interest,  under  Elkins  Act 58 

Joint  defendants  may  be  sued  on  award  of  damages 33 

Joint  plaintiffs  may  sue  on  award  of  damages 33 

■  May  appear  in  person  or  by  attorney 36 

May  be  summoned  before  court  under  Clayton  antitrust  act 71 

Notice  to,  of  tentative  valuation 40 

Shall  be  furnished  with  copy  of  report 28 

Passengers  and  property  from  connecting  line 12 

Passenger  railways,  street  electric,  through  route  and  joint  rate  with 30 

Passenger  vehicles,  explosives  act 93,  94 

Passes : 

Interchange   of 10 

Prohibited  and  exceptions 9,46 

Patents,  no  inspector  shall  be  interested  in 97 

Pecuniary  interest  in  proceeding,  commissioner  shall  not  participate 36 

Penalty : 

Accidents  report  act 86 

Ash-pan  act 92 

Boiler-inspection  act 100 

Common  carrier  and  officer  purchasing,  etc.,  without  bids 67 


128  INDEX. 

Penalty — Continued.  Page. 

Compulsory  testimony  act 54 

Corporation  subject  to 56 

Disclosing  information  concerning  shipments 32 

Discrimination  by  Government-aided  lines 75 

Each  day  separate  offense 14 

Embezzlement  by  president,  etc.,  of  common  carrier 66 

Examiner  subject  to,  who  divulges  information 45 

Explosives  act 95 

Failure  of  carrier  to  file  annual  report 43 

Failure  of  Government-aided  lines  to  file  annual  reports 76 

Failure  to  comply  with  regulations  or  order  of  Commission 18 

Failure  to  obey  order  under  section  15 34 

Failure  to  publish  rates,  Elkins  Act 56 

False  billing,  etc.,  by  carrier 22 

Falsifying  record,  etc 44 

Greater  or  less  compensation  than  published  tariffs 47,56 

Hours  of  service  act 91 

Inducing  carrier  to  discriminate 24 

Misstatement  of  rate  in  writing 18 

No  exemption  from  antitrust  laws  by  enactment  of  Clayton  Act 64 

No  person  testifying  subject  to,  in  certain  cases 21,  26,  54,  55,  59 

Obtaining  less  than  regular  rates  by  fraud 23 

Of  imprisonment  shall  not  apply  to  artificial  persons 23 

Preventing  bidding  or  competition  among  bidders 67 

Refusal  to  comply  with  order  of  court 26 

Refusal  to  testify 54 

Safety-appliance   acts 80,  82,  84,  85 

Violation  of  act 22 

Violation  of  valuation  provisions 41 

Violating  pass  provision 10 

Pending  cases  not  impaired  or  affected 48,49,60 

Pensioned  employees,  passes  to 10 

Percentage  of  power  brakes 82 

Peremptory  mandamus  when  question  of  compensation  raised 48 

Perishable  freight,  chains  may  be  used  in  hauling 85 

Perjury  may  be  punished 54 

Personal  baggage 9 

Personal  inspection  of  boilers 98 

Persons,  injured  in  wrecks 9-10 

Pestilence,  carrying  passengers  free  in  case  of 10 

Petition : 

Complaints  to  Commission  by 27 

Shall  state  facts  briefly 27 

Physical  connection : 

Between  lines  of  rail  carrier  aud  docks  of  water  carrier 19 

With  lateral  branch  line  or  private  sidetrack 11 

Physicians : 

Attending  to  persons  injured  in  wi-ecks,  passes  to 9-10 

In  employ  of  carriers,  passes  to 9 

Pipe  lines  subject  to  act 7 

Pleading : 

Complaint  to  Commission  by  petition 27 

Propriety  of  new  rates  determined  without  formal 29 


INDEX. 


129 


Page. 

Political  party,  number  of  Commissioners  from  same 48 

Pooling  of  freights  and  division  of  earnings  forbidden im- 
port of  entry  or  transshipment 7 

Ports,  proportional  rates  to  and  from 20 

Posting: 

Name  of  carrier's  agent . —  18-19 

Schedules 15 

Schedules  of  Lake  Erie  &  Ohio  River  Ship  Canal 77 

Service  by,  in  office  of  Commission's  secretary 49 

Postmaster  General,  authority  of,  not  impaired 77 

Post-office  inspector,  passes  to 9-10 

Poultry,  necessary  caretaker,  passes  to__ 9-1Q 

Powers : 

And  duties  of  Commission 25 

Enumeration  of,  not  exclusive 32 

Power  brakes  must  be  provided 82 

Practices : 

Commission  may  prescribe  reasonable,  for  carriers 28-29 

Commission  may  prescribe  rules  of 36 

Of  carrier,  must  be  just  and  reasonable 9 

Practicability  of  switch  connection.  Commission  to  investigate 11 

Preference : 

Military   traffic   in  time  of  war_' 18 

Unreasonable,  unlawful 12 

Prejudice,  unreasonable,  unlawful 12 

Presenting  property  for  transportation,  regulations  affecting '.» 

President : 

Appoint  chief  inspector  and  two  assistants . 96 

Approve  medals-of-honor  committee  report 90 

Authorized  to  issue  medals  of  honor 8S 

May   remove   Commissioner 24 

To    appoint    Commissioner 48 

Press    messages 8-9 

Prices,  no  discrimination  iu.  by  persons  engaged  in  commerce 62 

Prima  facie  evidence : 

Final  valuation  of  carriers 41 

Final  valuation  of  property 41 

Findings   in   reports 33 

Tariffs,  etc..  filed  with  Commission 35 

Principal  office  of  carrier,  venue  of  suit 51 

Principal  office  of  Commission  in  Washington :>" 

Printed  for  distribution,  annual  reports 28 

Printing  schedules 15 

Private: 

Banker,  director,  etc.,  in  bank  organized  under  United  States  laws  — _  65 

Car  service 8,  32 

Docks,  switch  connection  to 19-20 

Individuals,  subsidy  or  donation  from,  to  carriers 38,39 

Sidetrack,  switch  connection  to 11 

Privileges : 

None  unless  specified  in  tariff 17 

Printing  and  posting 15-16 

66170°— 14 '.J 


130  INDEX. 

Procedure :  Page. 

Appeal  from  enforcement  of  order  under  Clayton  antitrust  act 70 

Circuit  court  of  appeals,  enforcement  of  order  under  Clayton  Act 69 

Commission  may  determine  its  own 36,37 

District  courts,  suits  to  enforce  or  set  aside  orders 51 

Investigating  complaint  under  Clayton  antitrust  act 68 

To  restrain  violations  of  Clayton  antitrust  act 71 

Process : 

Service  of.  complaints,  etc.,  under  Clayton  antitrust  act 70 

Service  of,  where  defendant  carrier  has  its  principal  office 34 

Service  on  Washington  agents 49 

Production : 

Books  and  papers,  action  for  damages 21 

Books,  papers,  tariffs,  etc 25.54 

Profiles  to  be  furnished  to  Commission  by  carrier . 39 

Profit  and  loss,  balance  of.  annual  report  of  carrier  shall  show 43 

Proof  of  deserving  must  be  shown,  medal s-of -honor  act 88 

Property  of  carriers: 

Commission's  agents  shall  have  access  to 39 

Held  for  other  than  common  carrier  purposes,  valuation 38 

Report  of  ownership  of  Government-aided  lines 76 

Valuation  of.  by  Commission 37 

Proportion  of  joint  rates ' 29-30 

Proportional  rates  to  and  from  ports  defined ., 20 

Proposed  rates,  suspension  of 29-30 

Propriety,  Commission  may  determine,  of  new  schedules 29 

Prosecution : 

Cost  and  expense  of 25.34 

Jurisdiction  of  State  and  Federal  courts.  Clayton  antitrust  act 66 

Proper  district  for 57 

Protest : 

Of  valuation 40 

On  Commission's  valuation  of  carriers 40 

Proxies,  acquisition  of  stock  and_voting  by  competitor,  prohibited 63 

Public : 

Inspection  of  records  and  data  on  valuation 40 

Inspection  of  schedules,  etc 16 

Proceedings  on  request  of  party  interested *. 36 

Records,  tariffs,  etc..  filed  with  Commission  shall  be  preserved  as 35 

Publication : 

Reports  and  decisions  of  Commission 28 

Schedules  of  Lake  Erie  &  Ohio  River  Ship  Canal 77 

Published  rates : 

Failure  to  publish  rate  a  misdemeanor 56 

Must  prevail , 57 

Purchases: 

Carrier  prohibited  from   making,   with   another   corporation    having 

same  officers ---  66 

Reports  of,  to  be  made  to  Commission 67 

Qualification  of  Commissioners 24,46,48 

Quorum,  majority  of  Commissioners  for  transaction  of  business 36 

Quotation  of  rates  in  writing,  when  to  be  furnished 18 


INDEX.  131 

Railroad :  Page. 

Government-aided 73 

State,  commissioners,  complaints  by 27 

Subject  to  act,  when 7 

Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  puss  to  traveling  secretary 9 

Railroad  defined 8 

Boiler-inspection  act 96 

Hours-of-service  act 90 

Railway  Mail  Service,  employees,  passes  to 9-10 

Rates : 

Annual  report  of  carrier  concerning 43 

Device  to  avoid  regular : 22.2:; 

Filed  or  participated  in,  deemed  legal 57 

Filing  and  posting 15-16 

Government-aided  lines 73 

Just  and  reasonable 8.29 

Lake  Erie  &  Ohio  River  Ship  Canal 77 

Less,  for  longer  than  shorter  haul 12 

Maximum,  Commission  may  prescribe 20 

New,  Commission  may  determine  propriety 29 

Proportional,  to  and  from  ports _ 20 

Public  records,  rates  filed  with  Commission  are 35 

Published,  to  be  strictly  observed 17 

Regulations,  reasonable,  affecting 9,15-16 

Rules,  reasonable,  affecting 15-10 

Suspension  of,  by  Commission 29-30 

Unduly  preferential  or  prejudicial 12 

Unless  filed,  carrier  not  to  transport 17 

Written  statement  of IS 

Real  property,  valuation  of " 38 

Renrgument,  equal  division  of  opinion  under  expediting  act 61 

Reasonable  charges : 

Burden  of  proof 30 

Commission  to  determine  reasonableness 29 

Lake  Erie  &  Ohio  River  Ship  Canal 77 

Must  be 8 

Order  of  Commission  prescribing 29 

Reasonable  time,  answer  to  complaint  to  be  made  in 27 

Rebate : 

Injunction  against 58 

Lake  Erie  &  Ohio  River  Ship  Canal 77 

Offering  or  soliciting,  a  crime 12,56 

Penalty 22.56 

Prohibited 1 12. 17.  57.  5S 

Receipts : 

Carrier  shall  issue 45 

Exempting  carrier  from  liability 45 

False,  by  shipper,  to  obtain  refund,  etc 23 

Reasonable  regulations  affecting 9 

Receipt  of  property  included  in  term  "  transportation  " S 


132  INDEX. 

Receivers:  Page. 

Account    of l 44 

Included  in  ash-pan  act 93 

Penalty  for  violation  of  valuation    provision 4] 

Receiving  of  property : 

For    transportation ± :t 

Within  one  State  not  subject  to  act 7-8 

Receiving  passengers  and  property  from  connecting  line 1:2 

Recommendation  for  additional  legislation - : 46 

Records  of  carriers: 

Commission's  agent  to  have  access  to ■".'•>.  44 

Destruction  of,  Commission  may  permit 45 

Form  of.  Commissi. til  may  prescribe 44 

To  be  furnished  to  Commission '.','.) 

Records  of  Commission,  public  inspection  of 40 

Reduced  rates,  passes  and  exceptions 9,46 

Reduction   in   rates: 

Commission  may   require 29 

Lake  Erie  &  Ohio  River  Ship  Canal .  77 

To  meet  competition  of  water  route 13 

Reexamination  of  defective  boilers 99 

Refrigeration  services  included  in  term  "transportation" 8 

Refund : 

False  means  by  shipper  to  obtain 23 

Of  portion  of  tariff  rate ! 17 

Refusal  to  testify  or  produce  documents 54 

Registered  letter,  notice  of  tentative  valuation  by 40 

Regulations: 

Annual  report  of  carrier  concerning 43 

Carriers',  must  be  just  and  reasonable 9 

Carriers',  to  be  printed  and  posted 15-16 

Commission's,  failure  to  comply  with 18 

Commission  may  prescribe . 2S.  29 

Commission's,  to  have  full  force  of  law 39-40 

Commission  to  prescribe  for  transporting  explosives 94 

Governing  award  of  medals 89 

Rehearing: 

Application  for.  shall  not  excuse  compliance  with  order 35 

Commission   may  grant ! 35 

Report  and  order  under  Clayton  antitrust  act.  may  be  modified OS 

Rejection,  tariffs  may  be  rejected  for  filing IS 

Relief  trains  excepted,  hours-of-service  act 92 

Remanding  Commerce  Court  cases  to  district  courts 53 

Remedies: 

Civil,  enactment  of  Clayton  Act  does  not  exempt  antitrust  laws 64 

Complaint  to  Commission  or  suit  in  court 21 

Provision  of  act  in  addition  to 45 

Under  existing  law  not  barred 45 

Remitting  of  portion  of  tariff  rate 17 

Removal  of  suit  under  section  20  from  Slate  court 40 

Reorganization,  valuation  report  on 38 

Repair,  defective  cars  may  be  hauled  for__  1 84 


INDEX.  183 

Reparation :  Page. 

For    injury 27 

Report  shall  include  findings  of  fact 28 

Suits    for 21,  33 

Repeal : 

Antitrust  law  not  repealed  by  Clayton  Act 64 

Of  laws  in  conflict 54,60,77,87 

Repeated  messages 8~9 

Reports : 

Accident,  form  of 8» 

Chief  inspector  to  make 160 

False,  of  weight,  by  carrier  or  shipper 22-23 

Not  evidence .87-100 

Reports  of  carriers: 

As  to  value  of  property,  may  be  required 40 

Carriers'  engineer's  reports  to  be  furnished  to  Commission 39 

Commission  may  require  and  prescribe  method  of  making 42 

Government-aided  lines 7G 

Monthly,  of  earning  and  expenses 43 

Purchases  made  to  Commission 67 

Special  or  periodical 43 

Statistics  in,  are  public  records 35 

To  be  filed  by  September  30  of  each  year 43 

Under  boiler-inspection  act 99 

Reports  of  Commission  : 
Annual — 

Printed  for  distribution 28 

To  Congress 4^ 

Competent  as  evidence 28 

Concerning  valuation  work 39,40 

Must  be  entered  of  record  and  furnished  parties 28 

To  Congress,  block-signal  systems 101 

To  Congress,  on  valuation  of  carriers 39,40 

Under  Clayton  antitrust  act  to  be  in  writing 6S 

Representations,  false,  to  obtain  less  than  published  rate 23 

Reproduction,  cost  of -—  38 

Reproduction  cost,  valuation  report  shall  show 38 

Residence  of  petitioner,  venue  of  suit 51 

Restraining  order: 

Reasons  for  issuance  shall  be  specific  under  Clayton  antitrust  act___  72 

Temporary,  issuance  of,  without  notice,  under  Clayton  Act 71 

Restraints  and  monopolies,  expedition  of  suits  involving 60 

Restraints  in  commerce,  Clayton  antitrust  act 62 

Retroactive : 

Amendments  to  act  shall  not  be 47.49,50,60 

Clayton  Act  not  to  be 64 

Interlocking  directorates 66 

Return  of  cars 8 

Revenue  of  carrier: 

Carrier's  report  of 42 

Valuation  report  shall  show  earnings     38 

Revenue  trains,  hauling  defective  cars  by  means  of  chains  S.~> 

Reverse,  Commission  may.  on  rehearing,  its  orders 36 


134  DEX. 

Page. 
Revision  of  valuation 1 40 

Right  of  way: 

Commission's  agents  shall  have  access  to    39 

Valuation  of 38 

Risk  : 

Employees  shall  not  assume 81 

.Must  he  assumed  by  carriers  using  defective  appliances 84 

Roll,  false,  by  shipper,  to  obtain  refund,  etc '. 23 

Rockets  under  explosives  act ' . 94 

Routing: 

Duty  to  observe  routing  instructions 31 

Shipper  may  designate 31 

Rules  and  instructions: 

Carriers  shall  file 97 

Chief  inspector  to  file  if  carriers  fail .. 98 

For  district  inspectors 98 

May  be  changed 98 

shall  be  approved  by  Commission 98 

Rules  of  carrier : 

Commission  may  prescribe 28-29 

Must  be  just  and  reasonable 8 

To  be  printed  and  posted 15-16 

Rules  of  Commission  : 

Commission's  rules  to  have  full  force  of  law 1__^  39,40 

Rules  of  procedure 36 

Running  boards,  cars  must  be  equipped  with 83 

Safety-appliance  acts 79-86 

Assumption  of  risk 81 

Automatic  couplers 79 

Carriers  subject  to  act 79,  SI.  83 

Cars  of  connecting  lines  refused 79 

Chains,  hauling  by . 85 

Commission  to  designate  appliances 83 

Compliance  with  act.  time  for 81,  S4.  85 

Defective  cars  may  be  hauled  to  nearest  repair  point 84 

Drawbars 80,  S4 

Driving-wheel  and  train  brakes 79 

Enforcement  by  Commission 85 

Exceptions SO,  82 

Grab  irons  and  handholds 80.83 

Inspectors  provided  for 86 

Ladders    83 

Liability  of  carriers 84 

Penalty  for  violation 80.82,84.85 

Percentage  of  train-braked  cars 82 

Power  brakes 82 

Running  boards,  cars  to  be  equipped  with 83 

Sill  steps,  cars  to  be  equipped  with 83 

Sailors'  homes,  passes  to  inmates  of 9,44,46 

Salaries : 

Carriers'  employees,  annual  report  of  carrier  shall  show 42 

Commissioners' 36,  48 

Commission's  employees,  annual  repori  of  Commission  shall  show 46 


INDEX.  135 

Page. 

Sale,  conditioned  upon  purchaser  not  to  deal  with  competitor,  unlawful—  62 
Sample : 

Baggage  9 

Explosives  for  laboratory  examination 94 

Satisfaction  for  complain)  by  carriers 27 

Savings  bank,  mutual,  directors  and  officers  in 65 

Schedule  of  rates: 

Commission  may  determine  propriety  of  new 29 

Commission  may  prescribe  forms 17 

Filed  with  Commission  are  public  records 35 

Lake  Erie  &  Ohio  River  Ship  Canal 77 

May  be  rejected '. 18 

To  be  published 15 

Unless  filed,  carrier  not  to  transport 17 

Seal  of  Commission,  judicially  noticed 36 

Secretaries  of  railroad  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  passes  to 9 

Secretary  of  Commission : 

Commission  shall  appoint 36 

Custody  of  records 35 

Designation  of  Washington  agents  filed  in  office  of 49 

On  medals  of  honor  committee 89 

Service  of  notice  by  posting  in  office  of 49 

Securities  of  carriers,  valuation  report  shall  show 38 

Security,  order  of  Commission  to  require 20 

Senate : 

Appointment  of  boiler  inspectors  affirmed  by 96 

Appointment  of  Commissioners  affirmed  by 48 

Service : 

Complaints,  etc.,  under  Clayton  antitrust  act 70 

How   made 49 

Order  of  Commission  on  designated  agent  in  Washington 34 

Parties  to  be  furnished  with  copy  of  decision -28 

Process,  where  defendant  carrier  has  its  principal  office 34 

Tentative  valuation  notice  by  registered  letter 40 

Washington  agent  of  carrier 49 

When  no  Washington  agent 49 

Services,  allowance  to  owner  of  property  for  rendering 32 

Sessions  of  Commission  may  be  held  in  any  part  of  United  States 37 

Severally  liable,  carrier  and  shipper,  for  discrimination 24 

Sherman  Act,  violators  of.  not  to  use  Panama  Canal 15 

Shipper : 

Application  of,  for  switch  connection 11 

False  billing,  etc..  by 23 

Information  concerning  shipment  of 32 

May  designate  routing 31 

Penalty  for  soliciting  or  receiving  rebates 56 

When  cars  may  be  refused  from 7ft 

Short  haul,  charging  higher  rates  for,  than  for  long  haul 12 

Short  or  branch  lines,  may  be  acquired  by  main  lines 64 

Side  track,  private,  switch  connection  with 11 

Signal  devices  under  explosives  act 94 

Sill  steps,  cars  must  be  equipped  with _.                       —  83 

Similar  circumstances  and  conditions 12 


136  INDEX. 


>ing-car  companies:  Page 

Common  carriers S 

Passes  to  employees 9_10 

Society,  complaint  to  Commission  by i 27 

Soldiers'  ami  sailors'  homes,  passes  to  inmates  of ;».  .p; 

Special : 

Agents — 

Commission   may   employ 44,45 

Penalty  for  divulging  information 4". 

cases,  application  to  relieve  from  fourth  section 13 

Kale,  unlaw  ful 12 

Service,  transportation  of  men  ami  stores  for  valuation  service  -J_ 

Spurs: 

Included  iii  term  "railroad" 8 

To  dock  of  water  line p.t 

Standard  height  of  drawbars 80,81,84 

State: 

Commission,  cooperation  with 87 

Complaints  by 27 

Court- 
Jurisdiction  of.  to  enforce  order  for  payment  of  money :;:; 

Removal  of  suit  under  section  20  from 40 

Governments,  free  or  reduced  rates  for 40 

Homes  for  disabled  volunteer  soldiers,  passes  to  inmates  of '.».  4t; 

Subsidy  or  donation  from,  to  carrier 38.  •';'.> 

Transportation  not  subject  to  act 7-8 

Statement,  false,  by  shipper,  fraud,  a  misdemeanor XS.\ 

Stations,  freight,  included  in  term  "railroad" 8 

Statistics : 

Annual  report  of  carrier  shall  show 4:; 

In  report  to  Commission  are  public  records 

Steps,  sill,  cars  must  be  ecpiipped  with 83 

Stock : 

Acquisition  of  competitor,  prohibited 63 

Commissioners  shall  not  own,  of  carrier 24 

Railroad  not  to  own.  of  competing  water  line 13-14 

Valuation  report  shall  show 38 

Stockholders,  annual  report  of  carrier  shall  show  number 42 

Stoppage,  device  to  prevent  continuous  carriage,  unlawful 21 

Storage: 

Charges  to  be  printed  and  filed L5-16 

Included  in  term  "transportation" 8 

Regulations  affecting 9 

Within  one  Slate  not   subject  to  act 7-8 

Street: 

Electric  passenger  railways,  no  through  route  and  join!   rate  with 30 

Railways  excepted  from  safety-appliance  acts ! 82 

Subpoenas : 

Commission  may  require  attendance  of  witness  by 25 

Duces   tecum 54 

Parties  may  be  summoned  before  court  under.  Clayton  Act 71 

Signed  by  any  member  of  Commission 30,  54 


INDEX.  137 

Subpoenas— Continued.  Page. 
Witnesses — 

Accident  investigations : s~ 

Block-signal  investigations 101 

Subsidiary  corporations,  formation  of,  not  prohibited 63 

Subsidies: 

Land-grants,  etc.,  to  railroad  and  telegraph  companies.    -               7."; 

Valuation  report  to  show 38 

Suits : 

Courts  or  complaint  to  Commission  for  damages 21 

Order  of  Commission — 

Expedition  of : 52,  58 

Jurisdiction  HI 

Removal  from  .State  court  of,  under  section  20 46 

Sherman  Act  to  be  expedited 60 

Venue - 51 

Superannuated  employees  of  carriers,  passes  to 10 

Supplemental  order,  prescribing  proportions  of  joint  rates 20 

Supplies,  carriers  prohibited  from  making  purchases  with  another  cor- 
poration having  same  officer 66 

Supreme  Court : 

Appeal  from  suspension  or  annulment  of  Commission's  order 52 

Appeal  to,  under  expediting  act 61,62 

Remanding  Commerce  Court  cases  to  district  courts 53 

Surgeons  in  employ  of  carriers,  passes  to !>-10 

Surplus  fund,  annual  report  of  carrier  shall  show 42 

Suspension  of  new  rates  by  Commission 20-30 

Suspension  of  orders : 

By  Commission 34 

By  the  courts 52 

Switch  connection : 

Between  rail  and  water  line 19 

With  lateral  branch  line  or  private  side  track 11 

Switches  included  in  term  "railroad" 8 

Syndicating  arrangements  for  issuance  of  stocks,  bonds,  or  other  securities  38 
Tariffs: 

Commission  may  determine  propriety  of  new 20 

Commission  may  require  production  of 2.r» 

Failure  to  publish  a  misdemeanor 56 

Filed  with  Commission  are  public  records ."..". 

Filing  and  publishing 15 

Form  of,  carrier  may  prescribe 17 

Joint,  must  specify  names  of  participating  carriers 17 

May  be  rejected 18 

No  person  excused  from  producing _ r>4 

Rates  to  be  strictly  observed 17 

Unless  filed,  carriers  not  to  transport 17 

Telegraph  and  telephone  operators,  hours-of-service  act 01 

Telegraph  companies: 

Charges  shall  be  just  and  reasonable 8 

Exchange  of  passes  or  franks  with  common  carrier 10 

Exchange  of  services  with  common  carrier 9 


138  INDEX. 

Telegraph  companies— Continued.  Page 

Government-aided 7g 

Linemen  of,  passes  to 9-10 

Messages,  classification  of 8 

Subject  to  act 7 

Telephone  companies : 

Charges  shall  be  just  and  reasonable 8 

Exchange  of  passes  or  franks  witb  common  carrier 10 

Exchange  of  services  with  common  carrier 9 

Linemen  of.  passes  to 9-10 

Messages,  classification  of 8 

Subject  to  act • 7 

Telegraph  line  connecting  with  Government-:! ided  line 73 

Temporary  injunction,  violations  of  Clayton  antitrust  act 71 

Temporary  restraining  order,  issuance  of,  without  notice,  under  Clayton 

antitrust  act . 71 

Tentative  valuation 40 

Terminal  charges  printed,  posted,  and  filed 15-16 

Terminal  facilities : 

Included  in  term  "railroad" 8 

Use  of,  by  another  carrier 12 

Terminals,  of  carriers,  valuation  of 38 

Territories : 

Complaints  by  commissioners  of _ 27 

Transportation  within,  or  to  or  from 7 

Valuation  of  carriers'  property  in 39 

Territories  included  in : 

Ash-pan  act 92 

Boiler-inspection   act 97 

Safety-appliance  act 81 

Testifying,  no  person  excused  from 54 

Testimony : 

Accident,  investigations 87 

Agents  or  examiners 45 

Compulsory  act 54.  55 

Immunity  of  witness  in  action  for  damage 21 

Proceeding  before  Commission  or  board  to  be  reduced  to  writing 68 

Through  bill  of  lading,  carrier  shall  issue 31,45 

Through  rates  in  excess  of  combination  of  local  rates 12 

Through  routes : 

Between  rail  and  water  carrier  to  foreign  country  v;  i  Panama  Canal-  20 

Carrier  to  establish 8 

Commission  may  establish 30 

Entire  length  of  railroad 31 

Greater  compensation  than  aggregate  of  intermediates 12 

Rail  and  water  carriers 20,30 

Terms  and  conditions  of  operation 30 

With  street  electric  passenger  railways 30 

Through  shipments,  initial  carrier  liable  for  loss  or  damage 45 

Tickets : 

Commutation,  excursion,  and  mileage 1 46 

Interchangeable   mileage 47 

Issuance,  form,  and  substauce 9 

Time  schedule,  change  of 21 


INDEX.  139 

Page. 

Tolls,  Lake  Erie  &  Ohio  River  Ship  Canal _______.._.  77 

Torpedoes  under  explosives  act 94 

Tracks : 

Included  in  term  "railroad" 8 

To  dock  of  water  carrier 19 

Use  of,  by  another  carrier 12 

Traffic,  writ  of  mandamus  to  compel  movement  of : 48 

Train  brakes: 

Cars  must  be  equipped  with 79 

Percentage  of  cars  in  train 82 

Transfer  in  transit  included  in  term  "transportation" '. 8 

Transport,  traffic,  writ  of  mandamus  to  compel  carrier  to 48 

Transportation : 

Duty  of  carrier  to  furnish 8 

Employees  engaged  in  valuation 42 

Regulations  affecting 9 

Subject  to   act 7 

What  the  term  includes 8 

Wholly  within  one  state,  not  subject  to  act 7-8 

Transportation  of  explosives  act 93-95 

Exceptions   of  provisions 94 

Explosives  not  to  be  carried 94 

Marking  packages 95 

Passenger    vehicles 93 

Penalty  for  violation : 95 

Regulations  affecting 94 

Transshipment,  port  of 7 

Traveling  expenses,  boiler-inspection  act 97 

Traveling   secretaries   of   railroad   Young  Men's  Christian    Associations, 

passes  to 9 

Treasury  of  the  United  States,  forfeiture  payable  into 34 

Trust  company  director,  officer  or  employee  in  more  than  one,  prohibited-  64 

Trustees,  operating,  penalty  for  violation  of  valuation  provisions 41 

Ultra  vires  contracts  of  Government-aided  lines 75 

Undue  discrimination,  induced  by  shipper,  misdemeanor 24 

Undue  or  unreasonable  preference  or  advantage  forbidden 12 

Undue  or  unreasonable  prejudice  or  disadvantage  forbidden 12 

Uniform  system  of  accounts,  Commission  may  prescribe 42-43 

Unjust  discrimination,  defined  and  forbidden 12 

United  States : 

Forfeitures  payable  into  Treasury 34 

Free  or  reduced  rates  for 46 

Petition  for  injunction  under  Clayton  antitrust  act 71 

Subsidy  or  donation  from,  to  carriers 38,39 

United   States  Board  of  Mediation  and  Conciliation,   transfer  of  Com- 
merce Court  property  to 53 

Unlawful  discrimination,  fine  or  imprisonment 22 

Unrepeated  messages 8-9 

Vacancies,  remaining  Commissioners  to  exercise  all  powers 25 

Valuation;  property  held  for  other  than  common-carrier  purposes 38 

Valuation  of  carriers : 

Carriers  required  to  cooperate 39 

Extensions   and  improvements 40 


140  INDEX. 

Valuation  of  carriers — Continued.  Page. 

Final  prima   facie  evidence 41 

Grants  from  United  States  to  show 38 

Methods  and  procedure  to  lie  prescribed  by  Commission 39 

Penalty  for  viblation  of  provisions 41 

Reports  to  Congress __ 39,40 

To  whom  notice  shall  be  given  niton  completion 40 

Valuation  of  carriers'  property: 

Analysis  of  methods  to  be  reported 3S 

By    Commission 37 

Changes  in.  carriers  required  to  make  report 40 

Experts  for  work,  Commission  may  employ 37 

Final- 
Effect 1 __  41 

If  no  protest  filed  within  30  days 40 

May  be  modified  or  rescinded.    41 

Reports  to  Congress 40 

Revision  or  correction 40 

Tentative 40 

What  valuation  reports  shall  show 37 

Value : 

False  statement  by  shipper 23 

Land  grants,  unsold  portion 39 

Of  property,  carrier's  annual  report  concerning 42 

Of  service,  rules  affecting 15-16 

Vehicles  of  shipment,  includes  in  term  "transportation" 8 

Ventilation  included  in  tenn  "transportation" 8 

Venue,  suit  to  enforce  or  set  aside  orders 51 

Vessels,  railroad  not  to  have  interest  in  competing 13-14 

Violation  of  act,  misdemeanor 22 

Vocation,  Commissioners  shall  have  no  other 2-1-25 

Vote  of  Commission  entered  of  record 36 

Vouchers : 

Approved   by   chairman ."57 

False,  by  shipper  to  obtain  refund,  etc  23 

War,  preference  to  military  traffic 18 

Washington  agent : 

Carrier  shall  designate 49 

Service  of  order  on 34 

Water  line : 

Common  control,  etc.,  with  rail   line 7 

Interchange  of  traffic  with  rail  line 20 

Physical  connection  with  rail  line 19 

Railroad  not  have  interest  in  competing.. ._    13-14 

Rates  to  he  filed  with  Commission,  when 14 

Reduction  in  rail  rates  to  meet  competition  of 13 

Subject  to  act,  when ' 7 

Through  route  and  joint  rate .     .       20.30,33 

Transportation   wholly  by 30-31 

Via  Panama  Canal 14.  19 

Violators  of  Sherman  Act  not  to  use  Panama  Canal 15 

Weighing,  false: 

By  carrier,   misdemeanor 22 

.    By  shipper,  fraud,  a  misdemeanor 23 


INDEX.  ]  4  i 

l'age. 

Weight,  limit  under  parcel  post 78 

Widows  of  carrier's  employees,  passes  to 10 

Wireless  cable  companies 7 

Witnesses: 

All  existing  laws  relating  to,  to  apply  under  this  act— 4'.t 

Commission   may  require  attendance  of 25 

Courts  may  compel  attendance  of _•">.  59 

Courts  ma\    compel   production  of  books,  etc     _  _     59 

Evidence  may  criminate,  shall  uot  excuse 21,26,59 

Fees 27,  :iT 

Immunity  of _.  ."..nit 

Immunity  of,  in  action  for  damages 21 

May  be  subpoenaed  in  accident  investigations ST 

Mileage ..    -">7 

Passes    to .__     9-10 

Special  agents  or  examiners. of  Commission  may  examine  45 

Subpoenas  for,  block-signal  investigations    , .  101 

W recking  trains  excepted,  hours-of -service  act 92 

Wrecks,  passes  to  persons  injured  in;   also  physicians  and   nurses 9-10 

Yards  included  in  term  "railroad" 8 

Young   Men's   Christian    Association,    traveling    secretaries    of    railroad, 

passes  to T —  9 

Zones  under  parcel  post,  consent  of  Commission  to  change 78 


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